Employers who hire unemployed Construction apprentices will soon be able to access additional support thanks to a new initiative announced by Construction Skills, the Sector Skills Council for Construction, and the National Apprenticeship Service.
The initiative will support the re-employment of up to 800 out of work Construction apprentices by providing financial support to employers that provide them with an Apprenticeship place. Construction employers who offer an Apprenticeship place to redundant apprentices, and support them through to completion of their training, would be eligible for a maximum of £1,000 for each apprentice they take on.
Funded by the National Apprenticeship Service, a total of £1 million will back the initiative. For employers who are registered with CITB-ConstructionSkills, this comes on top of the funding which may be available through the grant scheme. Funding is available for those apprentices in the last 12 months of their Apprenticeship.
The additional funding will act as an incentive for even more employers to support the ConstructionSkills Apprenticeship Matching Service. The service helps employers hold on to their apprentices or, when this is not possible, matches displaced apprentices with new employers.
Nigel Donohue, Apprenticeship Programme Manager for ConstructionSkills, said:
"Our Apprenticeship Matching Service has been a huge step forward for the industry, helping to retain as many of the next generation of workers as possible. We have also been talking to Government in recent months about the need to support employers in our industry through this difficult time and the funding from the National Apprenticeship Service will do just that: £1,000 for each apprentice adopted through the AMS will make the proposition a lot more viable for many employers.
Simon Waugh, Chief Executive of the NAS, said the grant provided a much needed boost to construction employers:
"It is well documented that apprentices are good for your bottom line. In today's challenging times, and particularly as we prepare for the upturn, Apprenticeships are a vital way of improving the skills of staff and generating a committed and valuable workforce. This is why we are working with the industry to provide immediate financial support to ensure construction employers can keep taking on apprentices".
Minister for Further Education, Skills, Apprenticeships and Consumer Affairs Kevin Brennan said: "This is a welcome development which should help hundreds of apprentices to complete their training. As well as the support offered by ConstructionSkills, the National Apprenticeship Service is working hard with other colleges and training providers to ensure as many construction apprentices as possible can finish their apprenticeship. We have also introduced new flexibilities to support apprentices whose jobs are at risk, such as allowing apprentices to complete some of their training at a college where possible, and claim EMA or other financial support to tide them over until they find a new employer."
For further information about the initiative visit the ConstructionSkills website.
| 
