Chancellor Rishi Sunak delivers new investments for apprenticeships in the 2021 spring budget

With over 700,000 people losing their jobs as a result of the coronavirus crisis Rishi Sunak set out to provide hope and “level up” Britain’s economy. This was good news for companies employing apprentices.

£3,000 hire incentive

In August as part of his ‘Plan for Jobs’ the Chancellor announced  financial incentives which currently offer firms £2,000 to take on apprentices aged 16 to 24, while those that employ new apprentices aged 25 and over are paid £1,500. This incentive was set to end this month, but has now been extended until 30 September 2021. On top of the extension any employers who hire a new apprentice between 1 April 2021 and 30 September 2021 will receive £3,000 per new hire, regardless of the apprentice’s age.

This is on top of the £1,000 payment already provided for new apprentices aged 16 to 18 and those under 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan, meaning that some employers could receive £4,000 in total.

According do the Chancellor:

The apprenticeship scheme would help people of all ages and backgrounds reskill for “levelling up” Britains economy

Flexi-job Scheme

Alongside the increased incentive a new flexi-job apprenticeship scheme was announced aimed at enabling people to work across multiple projects with different employers. The government will introduce a £7 million fund from July 2021 to “help employers in England set up and expand portable apprenticeships”.

Trailed last Friday, the Treasury called this scheme “flexi-job” apprenticeships. The first of these are expected to start in January 2022.