Government funding apprenticeships in small businesses

Following the government’s budget announcement earlier this year, there have been some exciting updates for the NDT apprenticeships.

The government will now fully fund apprenticeships in small businesses by paying the full cost of training for anyone up to the age of 21, reducing costs and burdens for businesses and delivering more opportunities for young people to kickstart their careers.

This will remove the need for small employers to meet some of the cost of training and save time and costs for providers such as further education colleges, which currently need to source funding separately from the government and businesses. The move is underpinned by an additional £60 million of new government funding for next year, guaranteeing that where there is demand for apprenticeships from businesses, the government will ensure there is enough funding to deliver them.

The government has also increased the amount of funding that employers who are paying the apprenticeship levy can pass onto other businesses. Apprenticeships have previously been funded by a levy-paying employer transferring up to 25% of their unused levy to a different employer. Under the new measures, large employers who pay the apprenticeship levy will now be able to transfer up to 50% of their funds to support other businesses, including smaller firms, to take on apprentices. This will help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) hire more apprentices by reducing costs and enabling more employers to acquire the skilled workers they need while unlocking more opportunities for young people across the non-destructive testing (NDT) sector.

Please note that the views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not represent the views of Lavender International NDT or BINDT.

Sam Cunningham is with Lavender International NDT and is a member of BINDT’s Education & Professional Development Committee, which oversees the development of the NDT apprenticeships.

Employers in England looking to recruit an apprentice can find up-to-date guidance at: www.gov.uk/employing-an-apprentice

Details of the current apprenticeship vacancies in England are available at: www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship