It could all be for free…

Following on from the future funding arrangements reported in the December 2016 ‘Apprenticeships Update’, I thought it would be worthwhile going into a little more detail about how the process pans out for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), for which the training and qualification of an apprentice could be completely free.

The table below provides details of the future apprenticeship funding arrangement for SMEs and employers who do not pay the levy.

There are four things to consider: only external training is fundable; the training/qualification module has to be identified within the apprenticeship standard in order to be funded; funding is only available up to the funding cap; and training/qualification has to be incurred in order to claim the funding.

In order for employers to take advantage of this funding model, apprenticeships cannot commence before 1 May 2017. The new funding bands for the two existing apprenticeships are as follows:
  • NDT Engineering Technician – Band 12 (£18,000 funding)
  • NDT Operator – Band 10 (£12,000 funding).

This information was provided in a government document issued on 12 January 2017.

So, if you run an SME with less than 50 employees and you are thinking of taking on more NDT staff, then think ‘NDT apprenticeships’.

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