Apprenticeship employer updates

The College Lansdowne Site

Apprenticeship Coronavirus Incentive Scheme

Here is everything you need to know

Please note this page will be regularly updated. Please check here first, before contacting our Apprenticeship processing or administration teams.

To support economic growth from the coronavirus pandemic, in 2020, the Government introduced a new employer Apprenticeship Coronavirus Incentive Scheme. The scheme enables employers hiring a new apprentice between 1 August 2020 and 31 March 2021 to claim for the following one-off incentive payments:

  • £2,000 for each new apprentice aged 16-24; and
  • £1,500 for each new apprentice 25 and over

These incentive payments can only be claimed via the government apprenticeship service account:

https://accounts.manage-apprenticeships.service.gov.uk/service/index

Update 12th March 2021
We have now heard from the Education and Skills Funding Agency, that those employers who have already reserved funds in the DAS are now able to enter an accurate start date for their apprentices. Please log into your DAS account, and select the appropriate start date, which should now exist as an option. This should release your incentive payment through the DAS system.

For those employers who have not yet reserved funds in the DAS, we are awaiting confirmation as to what action should be taken. We anticipate that this information will be available in the week commencing 15th March 2021, and further updates will be posted here.

Thank you all for your continued patience.
Payment challenges
Employing an apprentice is usually a straight-forward process. We are aware however that some employers, in particular those who do not pay into the Apprenticeship Levy, have/are experiencing challenges when trying to claim payments from the scheme due to issues with the Apprenticeship Service Account.
What we are doing to help our employers

The Apprenticeship Service Account is operated and administered by central government, however we are undertaking the following to help secure a resolution for employers who have recruited apprentices through the College.

  • We are working with our representative body, the Association of Colleges, to lobby government to urgently create a mechanism to allow non-levy employers to draw-down funding; and
  • We are communicating with other colleges in the region, to ensure that any guidance provided by the Employment and Skills Funding Agency in the short term does not breach statutory funding rules, which might put apprentices’ qualifications at risk

    We appreciate that this is far from an ideal situation from our employers, but please be assured we are doing everything we can to find a resolution for you.