Chris Loder MP is encouraging employers from businesses of all sizes and sectors across West Dorset to apply for grant incentives from the Government, to help them take on new apprentices and get more local people trained and into work.
The MP told KeeP 106: “Apprenticeships are a great way to get ahead in a wide range of local businesses. Indeed, it was the route I took myself; going straight from school to work on the railway, instead of going to university. West Dorset has a proportionally high number of small and micro-sized businesses and this scheme represents a real opportunity for employers to invest in new skills, creating jobs growth and stability as our local economies seek to recover after coronavirus”.
As part of the Government’s Plan for Jobs, employers are being offered a support grant of £2,000 for each new apprentice they hire aged under 25 and £1,500 for each newly-recruited apprentice aged 25 and over. This includes taking on apprentices who may have been made redundant.
The MP continues: “Government is listening to the needs of us here in West Dorset and this support for apprentices comes following a record investment in education, skills and training at Kingston Maurward College and local schools. I have spoken in the House of Commons just today, during Question Time on International Trade; on behalf of our local businesses, to press for even more opportunity to be available to them”.
Employers who want to take advantage of the new apprentice grants scheme should apply as soon as possible through the Government’s award-winning digital apprentice service at gov.uk.
