What is it?
Wigan Council has launched the Future Apprentices for Business (FAB) grants programme to support businesses to create new apprenticeships.
Apprenticeships play a critical role in supporting businesses in meeting their staffing needs and developing the skills they need for their future workforce, and they create much needed employment with essential training for our younger residents.
The FAB programme is designed to help employers afford to invest in their business, meet recruitment needs and attract a higher calibre of applicants to apprenticeship roles.
We recognise that many businesses are struggling with recruitment. Our grants are for local businesses that recruit an apprentice that is paid at least the National Minimum Wage for their age.
Paying the National Minimum Wage rather than the Apprenticeship Wage makes your apprenticeship offer more attractive to a wider range and higher calibre of potential applicants - ideal in the current climate of high numbers of unfilled job vacancies.
It may also save you money, or give you the option to recruit a more experienced and older young adult, without a huge increase in cost.
Examples of how the grant can help:
- Recruit a 16 / 17 year old from our talent pool on a 12 month apprenticeship. The cost to you would be £3,609* (plus potential pension costs), compared to £8,609* on an apprenticeship wage. This includes the government's £1,000 grant for employing 18's and under
- Recruit a 20 year old on a 12 month apprenticeship and receive a basic grant. The cost to you would be £10,631* (plus potential pension costs), compared to £9,609 on an apprenticeship wage.
*Figures relevant to April 2023 NMW rates.
There may also be additional government payments of £1,000 if you recruit a young person aged 19 and over from eligible groups.
We have two levels of grant available, paid over the duration of the programme.
- Basic grant £3,000 - You can recruit any young person to your role using the find an apprenticeship (external link) website
- Enhanced grant £5,000 - You will select your new apprentice from a talent pool of individuals identified by our employment and skills programmes. These will be apprenticeship ready young people from our priority groups including care leavers, Children Looked After, those with special educational needs and disabilities and young people currently not in education, employment or training. Employers must first meet with our Inclusive Employer’s team to be deemed suitable for this grant.
Who can apply?
To be eligible, businesses would be required to:
- Recruit an apprentice who is a resident of the borough aged between 16 and 24 years, who has the right to work in England
- Have a location within the Wigan Borough and have less than 250 employees
- Pay the apprentice at least the National Minimum Wage (external link) for their age and not the lower Apprenticeship Wage
- Advertise the vacancy (basic grants only) on the government's Find an apprenticeship (external link) website
- Recruit a new apprentice and not apply for funding for an existing employee (FAB approval must be given prior to an apprenticeship agreement being signed and employment commencing)
- Commit to sign up to Wigan Council’s Believe in Business charter and complete the self assessment form
- We will also require employers to commit to our terms and conditions, and monitoring arrangements for the grant.
How can I apply?
We are using a two stage application process for this scheme.
The first step is to complete our online expression of interest form.
Funds are not guaranteed and businesses must meet the terms and conditions.
Expressions of interest will be reviewed by the team to confirm initial eligibility requirements are being met. Once this has been confirmed, the team will be in touch with next steps.
Please note: we will attempt to contact the business about the expression of interest by phone. If this is not possible, we will leave a message requesting a call back, or send an email requesting they get in touch. If the business fails to reply, we will be unable to progress the interest to the next stage towards completing the application for the grant.
How will the funding be awarded?
The funding will be paid in instalments as set out in the terms and conditions.
The number of instalments and when they are paid will depend on whether you are selecting an apprentice from our talent pool or through general recruitment.
- £3,000 Basic grant: £1,000 paid at start and £2,000 at end of apprenticeship
- £5,000 Enhanced talent pool grant: £1,000 paid at start, £2,000 at mid-point and £2,000 at end of apprenticeship
Please note that all grant payments will be subject to evidence being received that confirms that grant criteria is being met. Should this evidence not be forthcoming, grant payments will not be processed and approval will be withdrawn.
This funding is in addition to a £1,000 ‘employer incentive’ grant from the government which is available to all employers who recruit an apprentice aged 16-18. Further details can be found on GOV.UK (external link).
Monitoring
Businesses will be required to work closely with Wigan Council throughout the length of the apprenticeship programme.
Monitoring will be carried out by Wigan Council and this will require businesses to provide evidence during the programme to confirm the apprentice is still in employment, is progressing and being supported. We will check:
- Whether the business is still training the apprentice
- Progress by the apprentice
- National Minimum Wage requirements are still being adhered to
- Any issues arising from the apprenticeship.
Payments could be affected if monitoring is delayed or progress with the apprenticeship has been delayed by the business not adhering to apprenticeship requirements.
Wigan Council reserves the right to delay grant payments or withhold these should evidence not be forthcoming.
Should an apprentice leave an employer or withdraw from their programme of learning, no further grant payments will be made to that employer.
Apprenticeships in action