Wider use of subsidies needed to take on apprenticeships

The government has announced plans to offer a financial incentives of up to £1,500 to encourage small firms to take on apprentices.

But the business lobby group the CBI has said the measures don’t go far enough – and called for them to be extended to all businesses.

The Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) announced new measures to make a £1,500 subsidy available to companies with fewer than 50 employees. The payment will be split, so that part of it is paid on successful completion of the course, and will support “up to 20,000 new apprenticeships” in 2012-13.

The move is one of a number of policies intended to encourage firms to recruit apprenticeships. Others include streamlining health and safety requirements; and requiring the National Apprenticeship Service and training providers to “ensure every employer is in a position to advertise a vacancy” within one month of deciding to take on an apprentice.

Training providers will also be required to offer training in English and Maths, to get apprentices up to GCSE standards.

Susan Anderson, education director at the CBI business lobby group, said that the £1,500 payment was “welcome news. But this should go further to include employers of any size.”

She called on the government to introduce a “Young Britain Credit”, to encourage employers to increase recruitment of younger and less experienced workers.

Ministers also promised a “renewed focus” on targeting the programme on areas where it can “deliver greatest value”, including on younger adults. The programme has previously been criticised for diverting increased funding to apprentices aged over 25, rather than to school leaders.

But the Association of Employment & Learning Providers warned that: “The apprenticeship brand must not be damagingly stretched by making it a programme for the non-employed or NEETs who are still too far away from meeting the often demanding selection criteria quite properly laid down by employers.

“These individuals need flexible preparatory programmes to enable them to enter employed apprenticeships when both ready and employable.”