Employers of apprentices around Ireland are going online from today to claim a new employer grant, which provides them with €2,000 per apprentice per year, helping to cover the costs of apprentices’ salaries, mentoring and training costs.

The grant is available to employers hiring apprentices on 40 apprenticeship programmes introduced since 2016, which do not attract a training allowance. The development has been welcomed by Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris, TD.

Apprenticeships are now available in almost every 21st-century industry in workplaces right across in Ireland, from tech to biopharma, to engineering, manufacturing, hospitality and many more, providing a brilliant pipeline of talent for businesses. €7.5m funding has been allocated for the new grant for this year from the National Training Fund and over 1,700 employers are eligible for the grant.

It is expected that the new grant will encourage many more employers to adopt apprenticeships to recruit and retain talented employees.

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris, TD said: “Employers are key to us reaching our apprenticeship targets. We have introduced new support – a grant of €2,000 for every apprentice taken on.

“Today, we are opening the portal to apply for the grant. You will receive €1,000 initially and an additional €1,000 later in the year.   All you have to do is log on to www.apprenticeship.ie, apply and get your grant.”

Dr Mary-Liz Trant, Director of the National Apprenticeship Office said: “The new apprenticeship grant is going to provide great support to employers who are investing in their workforce. It is going to really encourage micro and small businesses, who are the backbone of our economy in Ireland, to take on apprentices. We expect that, within 2-3 years, the numbers of employers taking on apprentices and accessing the annual grant will have at least doubled, creating great jobs and careers and achieving our target of 10,000 apprentice registrations each year.”

From today, employers can log on to the Apprenticeship Online portal and, in 4 simple steps, submit their application for the grant. They will receive their €2,000 grant per apprentice in two instalments, with the first instalment paid now and the second instalment at the end of the year.

There are many more new apprenticeships due to come on stream this year and in subsequent years, all of these programmes will be included in the grant scheme.

Recently launched apprenticeships include a degree-level apprenticeship in bar management and an innovative scheme to advance the role of healthcare assistants through apprenticeship.

Last month also saw the announcement by Minister Simon Harris TD of the new gender-based grant for apprentice employers. The bursary, which is worth €2,666, is available to employers who employ apprentices on any national apprenticeship programme with greater than 80% representation of a single-gender.

For more information on the apprenticeship employer grant and how to apply, see www.apprenticeship.ie