Funding for Employers Available

As part of the Skills Funding Agency's priorities for provision to support those who are unemployed or made redundant, Westward Pathfinder is running two ESF co-financed projects, Skills Support for the Unemployed and Skills Support for Redundancy.

Funding under the Skills Support for the Unemployed project allows grant support for an employer of up to £2,500 towards employing an apprentice.

This opportunity is open to any SME seeking to employ apprentices falling into the 18 to 24 age bracket.

This age group has the highest increase of those out of work, hence the incentive being aimed at this target population.

To be eligible to take up this opportunity an employer has to be new to apprentices or not employed apprentices within the last 12 months.

A further proviso is that the potential apprentice has to be on Job Seekers Allowance or Employment Support Allowance (work related).

Potential apprentices need to be signed up to the Westward Pathfinder Skills Support for the Unemployed project wich is running across Devon and Somerset - their Taunton, Exeter, Torquay and Barnstaple offices being central sources of support.

The employer will receive a grant of £1,000 from Westward Pathfinder 6 weeks after the apprenticeship begins. They will then receive a further grant of between £1,000 and £1,500 26 weeks after the apprenticeship begins.

The amount of this second payment depends on the wage level of the apprentice.

Interested candidates should contact Lorna Lacey initially at Westward Pathfinder on 01271 818078 or 07989 398016 where they will need to sign up to the Skills Support programme before being directed back to DCET Training.