Grants available for apprentice recruitment
A grant has launched for businesses looking to recruit apprentices in manufacturing and engineering technologies, information and communication technology, construction and planning.
Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has launched its Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE) to boost apprenticeships across its key priority sectors. Companies with less than 50 employers based in Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, Wakefield and York can now apply for a grant of up to £2,000 to help recruit their first apprentice, aged 19-24.
The LEP, working in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, is driving plans to increase the number of apprenticeships for people of all ages, available across Leeds City Region.
It is part of a wider package of support available to businesses in the region through the LEP Growth Service.
Roger Marsh, chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP), said: “Businesses who employ an apprentice report many benefits, from training staff in the skills that the business needs to improved productivity and staff retention. The LEP has supported nearly 3000 businesses to recruit an apprentice through the last round of grant funding and I’m looking forward to supporting even more with the launch of this new grant.”
Rashik Parmar, chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership’s Employment and Skills Panel, added: “Done well, apprenticeships provide the younger generation with vital skills and a strong foundation on which to build their careers and on a regional level, it means we have the skills needed now and in the future”
