[Lauren]

Hey everyone!

Our friends over at the HomeServe Foundation carried out some search that shows that as a country, we need to invest in creating our next generation of skilled tradespeople because if we don’t, the consequences for our national recovery will be significant.

For you and your business, with demand from customers continuing to grow, and with all the available incentives, there’s never been a better time to take on an apprentice.

Listen here to Checkatrade’s HR Director, John Frith and Director of the HomeServe Foundation Helen Booth talking about the report’s findings, the need for skills training in our domestic trades and how businesses can take advantage of all the current incentives and support.

And if you’re not yet sure about taking on an apprentice, but still need help, and want to help pass on your expertise, you could take advantage of another government programme called the Kickstart Scheme. You can now apply to the scheme as a single employer.

With Kickstart, you would take on a 16 – 24 year old (currently on Universal Credit) and the scheme pays 100% of the National Minimum Wage/National Living Wage (depending on age) plus NI & automatic enrolment contributions. They’d work for you for 25 hrs/week for 6 months. And after that, if they were right for you, they could become your apprentice.

The scheme is open until 31 December 2021 but you should act now to get the full benefit for your business. Get in touch with the HomeServe Foundation by emailing [email protected] and they’ll help you.