£3,000 cash bonus to boost merchant apprenticeships

The Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) Apprenticeships Plus is urging BMF members in England to take advantage of the Government’s temporary boost to apprenticeships funding. A £3,000 grant will be paid to any employer hiring a new apprentice between 1st April and 30th September 2021 – and this incentive is available for apprentices of any age.

The new £3,000 grant is on top of the existing £1,000 age incentive already provided for new apprentices between 16 and 18 years of age, which means that some employers could receive £4,000 in total for each new apprentice hired during this time period.

Carmen Daley, Operations Manager at BMF Apprenticeships Plus, said: “This is fantastic time for BMF merchant and supplier members to recruit an apprentice. Our sector has remained busy throughout the current health crisis whilst others have, unfortunately, been forced to make redundancies. And with a new cohort of school and college leavers seeking their first jobs in a few months’ time, this really is a perfect time to use the BMF Apprenticeships Plus service to secure a new member of staff.

“The BMF Apprenticeships Plus service is designed to remove potential administrative hurdles and make it easy for BMF members to take on apprentices in any job role. They can even employ an apprentice on a member’s behalf and take responsibility for all associated administration. In this circumstance, the cash incentive will be passed back to the BMF member, offering the best of both worlds.”

Carmen Daley added: “Employers can also claim the grant for existing employees. As long as they have worked in your business for less than six months, you will be able to switch them to an apprenticeship, which could be a good way to upskill your team and keep them engaged.”

Although this grant is only available to employers in England, each of the Devolved Nations offers different incentive programmes to encourage apprenticeships.

For more information call Carmen Daley on 07496 370 224 or email carmen@bmfapprenticeshipsplus.co.uk