New Employee Apprenticeship Grants and Pathway Apprenticeships

The Scottish Government has announced two new incentives with a view to assisting employers and providing opportunities for young people who have been experiencing difficulty in finding employment as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Apprenticeship Employer Grant

A fund of £15 million has been set aside to offer grants to employees who are taking on a new apprentice or providing additional training for an existing apprentice.  The level of grant depends on the circumstances of the apprentice:

• £5,000 will be made available for employers taking on a 16 to 24-year old apprentice, and for those aged up to 29 years who are either disabled, care leavers or Black and Minority Ethnic
• £3,500 will be made available for employers taking on an apprentice aged 25 or over

Funding is available for eligible employees where the apprenticeship started on or after 1 December 2020 and will remain available until 25 March 2021 or until the fund has been exhausted, whichever occurs first.

Full information and details on how to apply will be available in January 2021 at:

https://www.apprenticeships.scot/for-employers/apprenticeship-employer-grant/

Pathway Apprenticeships

The second new initiative is the Pathway Apprenticeship scheme.  This scheme will provide training and experience for school leavers, with the opportunity to gain an accredited qualification.

The apprenticeship will last up to 26 weeks (36 weeks for engineering) and may be extended to 52 weeks for participants who are care experienced or disabled.

In addition to structured training and experience provided by the employer in conjunction with a participating college, each apprentice will be paid a weekly allowance of £100.

It is expected that 1,200 places will be available under this scheme.

Further details are available at:

https://www.apprenticeships.scot/become-an-apprentice/pathway-apprenticeships/

Further information for Employers

Further information on these and other schemes available for Employers who feel that they may benefit from taking on an apprentice is available at:

https://www.apprenticeships.scot/for-employers/#/

The information in this blog provides only an overview of HMRC guidance and legislation in force at the date of publication and no action should be taken without consulting the detailed HMRC guidance and legislation or seeking professional advice.  Therefore no responsibility for loss occasioned by any person acting or refraining from action as a result of the material contained in this blog can be accepted by the firm.

Photo by Scott Blake on Unsplash