Government measures to fully fund the cost of apprenticeship training for young people up to the age of 21 in small businesses came into play on 1 April.
The aim is to ease financial burdens on businesses and create more opportunities for young people to jumpstart their careers.
By fully funding apprenticeships, small businesses won't have to worry about shouldering training costs any longer. The move not only benefits businesses but also streamlines processes for training providers like further education colleges, who previously had to secure funding from both the government and businesses separately.
To support this initiative, the government is injecting an extra £60m of funding for the next year. This is to ensure there will be enough financial support available to meet the demand for apprenticeships from businesses.
Furthermore, larger employers who pay the apprenticeship levy will be able to transfer even more of their unused funds to other businesses. Currently, they can transfer up to 25%, but under the new measures, they can transfer up to 50%. This means more support for smaller firms to take on apprentices, reducing costs and increasing opportunities for young people across various sectors.
These combined efforts are expected to create up to 20,000 additional apprenticeship opportunities, primarily benefiting young people.