Employers who take on apprentices to get annual €2,000 grant

Employers who take on apprentices will receive an annual grant of €2,000 under a new initiative aimed at tackling skills gaps.

The move means financial support will be available to all apprentice employers for the first time. Until now, only employers in craft apprenticeships received such subsidies.

Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris said the move will encourage employers to consider apprenticeship as something that is excellent for business and for the learner.

“We have over 62 apprenticeship programmes from engineering to accounting, hairdressing, biopharma. You can be an apprentice in your local retail centre or restaurant, an up- and- coming small or medium sized firm, or the multinational company around the corner,” he said.

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The new employer grant is funded in Budget 2022 and will see annual payments to employers of €2,000 per apprentice per year for those apprenticeships which are not eligible for the payment of off-the-job training allowances.

Effective from January 2022, the annual base grant will be paid to employers who employ apprentices in one of the 37 apprenticeships which have been established since 2016.

The grant will be paid for each eligible registered apprentice during their employment with the company. Two payment points are planned per year: June and December.

Mr Harris also announced the appointment of Dr Mary-Liz Trant as the director of the new National Apprenticeship Office, aimed at driving reform of the sector.

She has held senior positions in Solas, the agency which over sees the further education and training sector, and the Higher Education Authority.

He added that next year will see the launch of new apprenticeship programmes such as advanced cybersecurity practitioner, wind turbine technician, manufacturing data integration engineer, advanced quantity surveyor, software solutions architect, and transport operations and commercial driving.