The New Apprenticeship Incentive Scheme is available to all employers to support the recruitment of new apprentices
This incentive is available to all employers to support the recruitment of new apprentices. As an employer, you will be eligible for up to £3,000 for each new apprenticeship opportunity created from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2022.
Applications for the 90-day element of this scheme relating to new apprenticeships which started in the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 must be submitted by 30 September 2021.
This bonus will apply to all new apprenticeship opportunities and includes apprentices who have been made redundant:
- Payment 1 – £2,000 after 90 days retention following start* of new paid apprenticeship
- Payment 2 – £1,000 after 200 days retention following start* of new paid apprenticeship
*For the purposes of this scheme the start of the paid apprenticeship refers to the date agreed with the training contractor as the date that the apprentice begins their ApprenticeshipsNI (AppsNI) or Higher Level Apprenticeship (HLA) programme or, in the case of apprentices who were made redundant and subsequently employed by another employer, the date the apprentice re-joined their programme.
All queries on this scheme or your application should be made by emailing the Department for the Economy at ApprenticeshipsRecovery@economy-ni.gov.uk.
Who is eligible?
You cannot apply to more than one scheme in respect of the same apprentice(s). If you are in the rare position where you are eligible to apply to both the New Apprenticeship Incentive Scheme AND the Return, Retain and Result Scheme, you must decide which ONE scheme that you wish to submit an application to.
This scheme is open to employers who take on an apprentice participating in the Department for the Economy funded ApprenticeshipsNI (AppsNI) or Higher Level Apprenticeship (HLA) programmes.
As part of the application process, checks will be made to ensure that apprentices on similar pathways have not been displaced to support recruitment if this is found to be the case eligibility may be impacted.
To note – programme eligibility excludes public sector employees.