The Welsh Government has further extended their incentive scheme to support businesses who recruit apprentices in Wales until February 2022, under the Apprenticeship Employer Incentive Scheme.

What is the scheme?

The Apprenticeship Employer Incentive Scheme is part of the Welsh Government’s Covid Commitment to support businesses and workers in recovering from the impact of the pandemic.

The successful scheme has seen over 5500 apprentices recruited since August 2020. Originally due to close at the end of September 2021, the scheme has been extended and the incentives will now continue to support businesses until February 28 2022.

Who’s it for?

Under the scheme, businesses are able to claim up to £4,000 for each new apprentice they hire under the age of 25 on a 30 hour or more contract, and £2,000 for each new under 25-year-old apprentice they employ for less than 30 hours a week.

For workers aged 25 and over, businesses can access £2,000 for each new apprentice they hire on a 30 hour or more contract, and a £1,000 incentive for apprentices working less than 30 hours.

Businesses should note that payments are restricted to ten learners per business. Dedicated funding is also available to recruit disabled people.

How to apply

If you have already used the Apprenticeship Programme, you will have a training provider and you can contact them to apply for the incentives.

If you are new to the Apprenticeship Programme, you can contact the National Training Federation Wales on apprenticeshipswales@ntfw.org.