MTC cranks up apprentice support for SMEs

The Student Engineer

The Manufacturing Technology Centre is boosting the employer support available to SMEs, making up to £8,200 available for hiring a new engineering apprentice.

MTC

In the recent budget, the government doubled and extended the financial incentives available to support employers who create new jobs for apprentices, incentivising workforce growth and helping to minimise unemployment. Businesses will now receive a bonus payment of £3,000 per new apprentice hired until September 30, 2021, regardless of age. This is in addition to the £1,000 payment for apprentices aged 16 to 18, meaning that some employers will receive a total of £4,000.

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UK employers with a payroll of more than £3million can use their apprenticeship levy to cover training costs, while eligible smaller businesses can access a levy transfer fund created through an partnership between MTC Apprenticeships and Lloyds Bank to fund apprentice training. In addition, SMEs with fewer than 50 employees can apply to receive up to a further £4,200 towards their apprentice’s wages through MTC Apprenticeships’ SME Salary Support Scheme. This extra funding now takes the available support up to a maximum of £8,200, significantly offsetting the cost of employing an apprentice for the first year of their programme.

"Apprentices are set to be instrumental in supporting Britain’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic,” said David Hughes, managing director of MTC Apprenticeships. “As the country begins to re-open after the third national lockdown, manufacturers need to ensure their workforces can meet demand and support their future growth.

"The improved scheme is a fantastic opportunity for businesses of all sizes to take advantage of the benefits apprentices offer. Apprenticeships are already a cost effective way to attract enthusiastic, motivated, new talent, helping businesses to future proof their workforce and reinvigorate current staff, as well as enabling firms to retain existing expertise by passing on knowledge and skills to the next generation. The MTC’s advanced manufacturing apprenticeship programmes include exposure to disruptive technologies and new ways of working, empowering apprentices to help their employers to accelerate innovation and increase productivity.”