Mel Stride MP has joined forces with The Focus Training Group in Heathfield to urge employers of all sizes to apply for generous cash incentives to help them take on new apprentices and get more people into work. Employers are being offered £2,000 for each new apprentice they hire under 25 and £1,500 for each newly recruited apprentice aged 25 and over. This includes taking on an apprentice who has been made redundant. The funding is on top of the existing £1,000 payment for new 16 to 18-year-old apprentices, and those aged under 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan.
Mr Stride served as a PPS in the Business Department under David Cameron and helped to deliver a huge rise in the number of young people embarking on apprenticeships across the country and has remained a vocal advocate of apprenticeships as an alternative to university.
Mr Stride said:
“Apprenticeships are an excellent way of gaining the qualifications and developing the skills needed to embark on a successful career while earning. We have excellent apprenticeship training centres in Central Devon and I would urge local businesses to consider whether they would benefit from taking on an apprentice, especially now with extra financial incentives available. For more information visit www.apprenticeships.gov.uk.”
Focus Training Group Operations and Development Director Mark Down added:
“We are delighted that Mel continues to be such a strong supporter of apprenticeships. They are a fantastic path to gaining job-specific skills, combining elements of education, training and employment while also earning a wage. Apprenticeships will undoubtedly play a vital role in delivering the skills employers and the economy need to recover after the coronavirus outbreak. For more information about the courses we offer please visit www.thefocustraininggroup.com.”
Photo: Mel Stride MP on a previous visit to The Focus Training Group in Heathfield.