How much will employing an apprentice cost?

Current incentives now available – (from 1st August 2020)
Due to the recent global pandemic the UK government have put together additional incentive payments for employers who hire a new apprentice between 1 August 2020 and 31 January 2021. There will be two levels of payment based on age.

• Available funding for apprentices aged 16-18: £3,000 
• Available funding for apprentices aged 19-24: £2,000 
• Available funding for apprentices aged 25 and over: £1,500 

For apprentices between 16 and 18, these incentive payments are on top of the existing incentive payments of £1,000 that the government already provides. So employers will actually receive a total of £3,000 for all apprentices aged 16 to 18. If the apprentice is 25 years old or over, the employer will receive £1,500.
The payment will be made directly to employers in two equal instalments, where the apprentice is still in learning at day 90 and day 365. There will be no limit on the number of incentive payments that an employer can claim for apprentices eligible to receive funding, provided each apprentice meets the criteria, including being a new employee. For the remainder of the 2020-21, the number of ‘active’ or ‘used’ reservations available to non-levy paying employers at any given time will increase from 3 to 10. This enables small non-levy paying employers to recruit more apprentices for their businesses through the apprenticeship service. This will come into effect from 15 July 2020 and will continue to be kept under review as we further assess how the new system is working.