Buxton college welcomes cash incentive to hire apprentices as young people face uncertain future

The future is unstable for many young people as the economy recovers.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that the government will pay businesses £2,000 for each 16 to 24 year-old apprentice and £1,500 for every apprentice 25 and over they hire over the next six months.

This will be in addition to the £1,000 incentive already provided for 16 to 18 year-old apprentices.

There will also be an additional £111 million investment to triple the scale of traineeships in 2021.

The news has been welcomed by Buxton and Leek College.

Business development manager for apprenticeships at the college, Tom Malpass, said: “It’s been a tough few months for businesses and apprentices.

"We’re really pleased to hear of the new incentives for businesses, that could see them receiving £3,000 in funding to hire a young apprentice.

"This will help grow key areas of business and the economy over the coming months.

“As the chancellor has said: apprenticeships and traineeships work.

"For both businesses and the apprentices or trainees working in them.

"We welcome the announcements and look forward to continuing to work to deliver qualifications that help support growth and the economy.

“Any local businesses looking to take on an apprentice in the coming months and benefit from the additional funding on offer can get in touch with us for advice and guidance at any time.”

The changes come as part of the treasury’s ‘plan for jobs’ document, as part of a £2 billion ‘kickstart’ scheme.

This will include £32 million for the National Careers Service to provide tailored jobs advice to 250,000 more young people, £101 million for school and college leavers to return for a third year and £17 million of funding to triple the number of sector-based work academy placements for adults next year.

To find out more about apprenticeships and traineeships at Buxton and Leek College, visit www.blc.ac.uk/apprenticeships.