Apprenticeships in Salford
About the campaign
The Apprenticeships in Salford campaign forms part of Salford City Council's joint delivery plan for apprenticeships and is being introduced to help support local employers to create and develop new apprenticeship opportunities for residents in the city.
The campaign has been running since the beginning of December 2011 and provides a range of different incentives to encourage employers to take on new apprentices. These include:
- Incentives of between £1,000 and £1,500 to support employers who take on an apprentice aged 16 to 24 years old
- Incentives of £2,000 to support employers who take on an apprentice aged 25 years old or over
- Funding for pre-apprenticeship work placements via the Future Jobs in Salford programme
- A full range of recruitment and business support from agencies working with, or as part of Salford City Council.
The payment of incentives
The financial incentives can be used to support the costs of employing an apprentice or as a contribution towards training costs. Funding for training varies depending on the age of the apprentice and the sector that the apprenticeship is in.
Incentives will be paid in two parts. The first 50% will be paid once the apprentice has completed six weeks of employment and the second 50% will be paid once the apprentice has completed 26 weeks of employment.
The maximum number of incentives an employer can receive is six.
Eligibility criteria for employers
The scheme is open to small and medium sized employers (SME) that employ less than 250 employees. Employers do not have to be Salford-based but must agree to provide an apprenticeship opportunity that meets all of the following criteria:
- The apprenticeship vacancy must be a new opportunity (i.e. not a conversion)
- The employer must not be eligible for grants through the AGE 16 to 24 initiative
- The apprentice must be a Salford resident
- The apprenticeship must be for a minimum of twelve months
Further priority will also be given to employers who can offer an apprenticeship opportunity in one of the council's target employment sectors (care, construction and creative and digital media) or at an advanced level (level 3).
More information and how to apply
Interested employers should complete an Expression of Interest form, which can be downloaded below. To return a completed Expression of Interest form, or to request more information on the Apprenticeships in Salford campaign, please email jack.loughlin@salford.gov.uk or call 0161 778 0463.
What employers have said
Gordon Kirkham (Contracts Manager) - B4Box
What advice would you give to other employers considering taking part?
Don't dismiss it - give it a chance 95% of trainees taken on through FJF programme have been very useful addition to the team, positive experience for both trainees and organisation.
What have you thought of the standard of candidates sent to you?
High standard - interviewed seven - took two on - difficult to choose because of high calibre of candidates sent through for interview.
Claire Darbyshire (Service Manager) - United Response
Have you used apprentices before?
We have never used apprentices before and found the overall experience to be positive.
What advice would you give to other employers considering taking part?
Give it a go. We found a great member of staff that has been an asset to the team.
What have you thought of the standard of candidates sent to you?
Excellent, she fitted in well with the team and is a very energetic and valued member of the team.
Downloadable documents
If you are unable to view documents of these types, our downloads page provides links to viewing software.
This page was last updated on 20 April 2012
