Apprentice Skills Development Fund

You can apply for a grant to spend on an apprenticeship course of your choice. Click here to take a look at the 700+ apprenticeship options that are available from the Institute for Apprenticeships.

The grant will cover the full cost of the apprenticeship, including training and assessment. The money can be used either for new recruits or to support the development of existing colleagues. If you've got an apprentice aged 16-18 years or under 25 years with an Educational Health Care Plan, you may also benefit from an additional £1,000 incentive. 

Please note, the grant cannot be used to pay salaries or any other associated costs of employment. 

We believe in the importance of investing in our people, and it’s important that you share this vision too. To be eligible to apply for the fund, you must meet all of the following criteria: 

• Your organisation must be a charity; 
• Your registered office must be in our trading area of Suffolk, Norfolk and Essex;
• The employee must be paid at least the national living wage; 
• The employee must have a permanent contract of employment and work a minimum of 30 hours per week; 
• The employee’s job must continue after the apprenticeship training ends. 

You will also remain solely responsible for paying your employee throughout the lifetime of the grant. We’ll also be publicising the impact of the fund, so we’d appreciate your participation in any external promotional campaigns. 

We understand that staff development can involve a significant investment of time, however, it’s important that your employee is given the opportunity to make the most of their training. It will be your responsibility as their employer to ensure that they are given sufficient support, mentorship and time to complete it.

1. Identify your chosen apprentice and the skill they'd like to develop. What are your organisational goals? What kind of skills do you need to achieve them?

2. Find a suitable apprenticeship qualification that meets these needs here on the Insititute for Apprenticeships. 

3. Decide which training provider they will be working with;

4. Create a digital apprenticeship account online on the Government Apprenticeships Service here. You can find information on how to do this here;

5. Download and complete this application form. We can only accept one application form per apprentice.

Once we recieve your application, we'll assess it against the criteria shown above. We'll be in touch within 8 weeks of receipt of your application to confirm whether you've been successful in your request.

If you'd like more information about our Apprentice Skills Development Fund, take a look at our handy FAQs here. For more information about the fund, please contact our Learning & Development team on learn@eastofengland.coop.