100 in 100 campaign: Bigger cash incentives offered to Portsmouth firms looking to take on apprentices
Cash incentives for businesses introducing apprentices into their organisation are set to double, with the time period of this offer increasing under Wednesday’s budget.
The welcome news is due to the lower-than-forecasted take-up of the offer, with Rishi Sunak unveiling his plans to extend the incentive period by six months to September 2021 and to increase the value.
The treasury had initially budgeted for up to 100,000 of these incentive payments to be made to employers across the UK, but only just over a quarter of this target was reached, with 25,420 claims submitted.
The chancellor has increased the cash incentive to £3,000 per apprentice recruited, regardless of their age.
These new incentives should be appealing to smaller businesses who are identifying skills gaps in their workforce as a result of the past year’s on-off lockdown restrictions.
Recruiting apprentices for roles in IT or digital marketing for example, to improve the online presence of businesses, could be hugely beneficial.
Speaking on the additions to the schemes, Mr Sunak said: ‘Our Plan for Jobs has spread opportunity and hope throughout the crisis – helping people back into work and harnessing their talents for the future.
‘We know there’s more to do and it’s vital this continues throughout the next stage of our recovery, which is why I’m boosting support for these programmes, helping jobseekers and employers alike.’
Traineeships have also been included in the chancellor’s budget for 2021, with £126m for 40,000 more traineeships in England and a plan to fund high quality work placements and training for those aged 16 to 24 in 2021/22.
Coupled with these increased incentives are more local opportunities for implementing apprenticeships at a reduced cost, with schemes such as 100 in 100 and Transfer to Transform.
The Solent Apprenticeship Hub is currently working with Shaping Portsmouth, Portsmouth City Council and other partners on the new 100 in 100 programme, supported by The News.
The aim of the campaign, which began on Monday, is to create 100 roles for young people in Portsmouth’s businesses in 100 days. This includes apprenticeships, traineeships, Kickstart scheme placements or any other skills programmes.
The Transfer to Transform scheme, which has already seen more than £1m distributed to small businesses across the Solent region, was introduced in the middle of 2020 to help boost smaller businesses that wished to upskill their workforce with apprenticeships, but were perhaps hesitant to make the jump financially due to the uncertainty of the timing. Funding is still available through this scheme for eligible small businesses across the Solent region.
To find out more about the new incentives, 100 in 100, Transfer to Transform or apprenticeships more generally – contact the Solent Apprenticeship Hub on [email protected], for a free impartial guidance service, supporting individuals or businesses of any size or sector with anything surrounding apprenticeships and skills.
If you run a business and can get involved in 100 in 100 by offering a placement to a young person, please contact Shaping Portsmouth on [email protected]