Destination Chesterfield

Apprenticeship funding opportunities

Employers who are looking to take on an apprentice can benefit from funding towards apprenticeship training. See details below on the current apprenticeship funding opportunities available.

Apprenticeship training: incentives and funding for employers

Employers and training providers could get £1,000 each for taking on an apprentice who is either:

• Aged 16 to 18 years old, or
• Aged 19 to 25 years old and has an education, health and care (EHC) plan or has been in the care of their local authority

You can spend it on any costs associated with supporting an apprentice in the workplace. For example, on uniforms, your apprentice’s travel or their salary.

Find more guidance for incentive payments when hiring a new apprentice.

Apprenticeship Levy Transfer Service

Funding can also be sourced from large levy-paying organisations, which can transfer up to 50% of their levy to support a different employer to take on an apprentice. You can search the most up-to-date apprenticeship funding opportunities on the Government website.

Derbyshire County Council Levy Transfer

Small and medium-sized businesses in Chesterfield could receive funding to train apprentices from the Derbyshire County Council Levy Transfer.

Derbyshire County Council is using its levy transfer funding to support SME businesses across Derbyshire to recruit new apprentices or to upskill the existing workforce.

Under current funding rules, if you are a business with a payroll cost of less than £3 million per annum, you are currently required to contribute 5% towards the cost of an apprenticeship, which could be as much as £1350.

Under this initiative, the Council is able to fully fund Derbyshire SMEs. The initiative seeks to keep apprenticeship investment in Derbyshire, support skills development and boost economic growth across the region.

Please contact Leigh Mckenzie for more information: Leigh.Mckenzie@derbyshire.gov.uk.

Foundation apprenticeships: incentives for employers

Foundation apprenticeships are available to young people aged 16 – 25 years to help prepare them for employment or an apprenticeship by providing education and a work experience placement. They cover construction and the built environment, engineering and manufacturing, health and social care and digital.

Employers can offer a work experience placement to a trainee and work with local training providers to design the programme. Offering a work experience placement gives employers the chance to:

• Work with a young person to see if they’re right for an apprenticeship or job in their business
• Design a programme that suits the needs of the trainee and their business
• Develop current employees’ experience in training and mentoring
• Recruit new talent for their business
• Claim an employer incentive of £1,000 when a work experience placement of over 70 hours has been completed
• Claim up to £3,000 of support for apprentices doing a foundation apprenticeship if the apprentice is one of the following:
  -16 to 21 years old
  -22 to 24 years old with an education, health and care (EHC) plan
  -22 to 24 years old and have been in care
  -22 to 24 years old and are in prison or leaving prison

Find out more about incentives on the Government website.