Apprenticeships Commissioning Programme Wales Framework Agreement

Whilst we have emerged from the impact of COVID-19 we now have a cost of living crisis therefore we have a recognised economic need to support disabled individuals into education, employment, or training during the current financial year.

The Welsh Government are therefore extending the EIS for disabled apprentices until 31 March 2025. We believe there is a need for targeted support to address employer concerns over employing a disabled person. The introduction of the Employer Incentive Payment for disabled people has been a significant factor to maintaining an increase in disabled apprenticeship starts, which have grown to over 9%. Whilst the labour market is now improving it is expected that numbers of disabled people seeking employment will rise and we therefore need to continue to offer EIS support to employers in order to help them continue to provide opportunities for disabled apprentices. We will strictly monitor the uptake of the programme. We will also reserve the right to suspend AEIS payments if it appears that demand is at risk of exceeding the available budget.

The AEIS payment supports the commitment to continue developing a culture where recruiting an apprentice becomes the norm for employers in addition to recognising the need to make apprenticeships a credible alternative to the academic route for young people.

In recognition of the administrative burden placed on lead providers in managing the Apprentice Employer Incentive payment process and collating relevant evidence to support payments, we will award providers an administration fee for each learner recruited under this incentive programme. This fee is set at GBP 100 (inclusive of VAT) per learner and will be payable in full once the learner has been employed for 4 weeks.

Further details of payments available to employers in relation to the Apprentice Employer Incentive can be found here: https://businesswales.gov.wales/skillsgateway/skills-and-training-programmes/apprenticeships/funding-available