£2,000 grant available to retailers taking on young apprentices

Small and medium-sized retailers taking on young apprentices can receive a £2,000 government payment for each eligible apprentice, under a new incentive aimed at encouraging more businesses to create opportunities for young people.

The Apprenticeship Hiring Payment is available to non-levy paying employers where the apprentice is aged 16 to 24 at the start of their apprenticeship training, or is 15 and turning 16 during the summer period, and started working for the employer no more than 90 days before their apprenticeship began.

Employers do not need to apply for the payment, with eligible apprentices identified when they start their training and the money passed to the employer through their apprenticeship training provider.

The £2,000 is paid in two £1,000 instalments, with the first payment made after 90 days and the second after one year, or after 242 days for shorter and foundation apprenticeships, provided the apprentice remains employed at each payment point.

The funding can be used towards employment-related costs such as equipment, travel or uniforms, giving retailers flexibility over how they use the support.

The payment forms part of the Government’s wider youth employment drive, which aims to deliver 50,000 more youth apprenticeships alongside almost one million opportunities for young people through an additional £2.5 billion investment in the Youth Guarantee and Growth and Skills Levy.

It also comes as the retail sector works with the Government on a separate drive to create up to 100,000 jobs for young people by the end of the Parliament, including work experience and employment opportunities.

The Government says the new apprenticeship payment is intended to help smaller businesses meet the costs of taking on and training young people while building their future talent pipeline.

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