Greater Manchester is committed to helping young people into jobs through financial incentives for businesses. There are several grants available to employers who hire youth aged 16-24, including up to £1,500 for taking on an apprentice, £750 for hiring an unemployed Greater Manchester resident, and £2,275 for long-term unemployed youth. Employers should contact the National Apprenticeship Service or local council programs for more details on accessing available wage incentives.

1. Greater Manchester is committed to helping our young
people into jobs and to assisting employers to make this
possible through wage incentives.
As part of a campaign across Greater Manchester, businesses are being encouraged to participate
in a number of initiatives to help young people into employment, including financial incentives.
To help you make sense of the national and local offers available, and how to access them, we’ve
put together the following short guide to grants. If you answer yes to any of the following questions
you may be able to access that grant when you take on a young person aged 16-24. You can usually
access more than one grant at the same time, but we would advise that you check with the
contacts below.
1. Are you a small or medium sized employer (with less than 250 employees) who has not
taken on an apprentice in the past 3 years?
You can access the new National Apprenticeship Service AGE grant of £1,500. This is payable in two
installments for employers who commit to employ 16 to 24 year old apprentices. Jobs need to last at
least the length of the apprenticeship training. This grant cannot be accessed if you are already
getting the Youth Contract grant (number 3 below) for the same young person.
To find out more contact NAS on 08000 150 600 or follow this link
2. Are you taking on a 16-24 year old as an apprentice who is unemployed, not in education
or training (NEET) and who is a resident of Greater Manchester?
You can access the Greater Manchester Commitment to Youth Employment grant of £750.
Employers can also have the young person working with them on a ‘working interview’ of up to 8
weeks during which the GM Commitment will pay the young person an allowance, before you take
them on. Jobs need to last at least a year. This grant can be accessed in addition to any other grant
described in this leaflet.
To find out more contact the GM Commitment team on 0161 237 4157 or follow this link
3. Do you want to take on a long-term unemployed 18 to 24 year old?
As part of the Youth Contract, employers are able to take advantage of wage incentives worth up to
£2,275 if they employ a long term unemployed young person for at least 26 weeks. This does not
have to be an apprenticeship and can be full or part time (grant is lower for part time). This grant
cannot be accessed if you are already getting the AGE Grant (number 1 above) for the same young
person.
To find out more you should contact one of your Greater Manchester Work Programme Providers
(G4S/Avanta/Seetec) or follow this link.
4. Are you taking on a young disabled person?
From July 2012 a payment of up to £2,275 will be made available for employers who recruit young
disabled people through Work Choice – a specialist disability employment programme that provides
tailored support to help disabled people who have the most complex support needs.
You can find out more here, or contact The Shaw Trust who manage this programme in Greater
Manchester on 0161 953 4457.
Who should be my first point of contact if I have an apprenticeship job vacancy?
We recommend that you telephone the National Apprenticeship Service on 08000 150
600, and they will be able to advise you how to proceed.

2. Examples
a. SME that hasn’t taken on an apprentice in the last 3 years, that now wants to recruit a local (Greater
Manchester) 17 year old that isn’t working and isn’t in school or college (NEET). The job is permanent.
£1,500 + £750 = £2,500 in grants can be awarded
b. Large employer that wants to take on local apprentices (under the age of 24) that are unemployed.
£750 grant can be awarded for each young person; if recruited from the Work Programme (long term
unemployed) an additional £2,275 can be accessed per person. £750 + £2,275 = £3,025 per person
c. Small firm that hasn’t had an apprentice in the last 3 years that wants to employ an apprentice that is
soon to leave school.
£1,500 grant can be accessed
Local grants you may also be able to access
5. Are you an SME taking on a new apprentice who is a Salford resident?
Incentives of between £1,000 and £1,500 are available from Salford City Council to support SMEs
who are not eligible for the AGE grant (1 above). You do not have to be a Salford based business.
More information is available here or interested employers can call 0161 778 0463 or email
jack.loughlin@salford.gov.uk
6. Are you taking on a Middleton resident to a level 3 apprenticeship?
A grant of £1750 for the employer, and £500 for the Apprentice is available from Rochdale Council
to any employer in any location, as long as the apprentice is a Middleton resident who has
completed A-Levels.
To find out more please contact Andy Turner on 01706 925099 or andrew.turner@rochdale.gov.uk
7. Are you employing a Tameside resident who is 16 -18 year old and either at risk of
becoming, or already NEET?
Tameside Council has launched its 50/50 Apprenticeship Scheme which will provide up to 50
Apprenticeship Grants of £1000 to employers who meet the above criteria.
More information is available here or please contact 0161 342 2191
8. Are you recruiting a 16-18 year old Stockport resident onto an apprenticeship?
Until July 2012 Stockport Council is offering a grant of £1,000 to employers who recruit a 16-18 year
old Stockport resident who progresses from a Stockport Council training course. Employers will be
rewarded with an additional £1,000 if the learner lives in a Priority One area of Stockport namely
Adswood and Bridgehall, Brinnington and Lancashire Hill and Heaton Norris.
For more information please contact Stockport’s 14-19 team on 0161 474 2350
9. Would you be able to offer an Apprenticeship training opportunity to a 16-18 year old
who lives in Stockport and has faced challenging circumstances?
Stockport Council has developed an offer to pay the wages of 25 young people who have been
chosen to be capable of achieving an Apprenticeship on its Supported Apprenticeship Scheme.
If you would like to find out more about this opportunity please contact 0161 474 2350 or email
Apprenticeships@stockport.gov.uk
10. Are you taking on a 16-24 year old from Manchester, Wigan or Rochdale into an entry
level job?
Through the GM Commitment to Youth Employment, Manchester, Wigan and Rochdale Councils are
offering £750 to employers who take on a young person who is resident in their borough. This does
not have to be an apprenticeship but for any job with training involved.
To find out more please contact GMCommitmentGrant@neweconomymanchester.com

3. 11. Are you an SME taking on a new apprentice and working with one of the following
training providers?
Until July 2012, the European Social Fund has an incentive worth up to £2,500 for SMEs who create
brand new Apprenticeship opportunities. The following training providers hold contracts to deliver
this grant in Greater Manchester, please contact them for further details:
Bolton College. Mike Morris Mike.morris@boltoncc.ac.uk
Bury College. Lynne Woods Lynne.woods@burycollege.ac.uk
HargreavesSystem Training. Raj Singh Rajinder.singh@system-training.com
JHP. Janet Lee Janet.Lee@jhpemployability.com
Stockport College. Debbie Fennell Debbie.Fennell@stockport.ac.uk
The Training Brokers. Tony Spencer tony@thetrainingbrokers.co.uk
The Oldham College. Stephen Aitken stephen.aitken@oldham.ac.uk
Wigan and Leigh College. Gareth Sutton Gareth.sutton@wigan-leigh.ac.uk
Inspire to Independence. Richard Green Richard.Green@enteri2i.com