Apprenticeship Support for Small Businesses FAQs

For the purposes of the fund a small business has been defined as a business with 15 employees or less.

The fund has been created to support the Viking Community Fund’s Strategic Priority of ‘More Younger People wanting to stay/return to Shetland’. For the purposes of the fund, young people have been defined as those up to the age of 25.

No. You can apply for funding before an apprentice has been recruited. Any funding award will not be paid until the apprentice has begun their apprenticeship with you.

Yes. The fund is primarily aimed at businesses employing an apprentice this year and perhaps for the first time (as the funding may help remove the financial barrier of employing one) with financial support available across years 1 to 3 of the apprenticeship.

However, we appreciate that the funding wasn’t previously available, and the fund can therefore also accept applications from small businesses who already have an apprentice employed. The maximum amount of financial support available across years 1 to 3 of the apprenticeship is £15,000 and we would ask businesses applying who have a year 2 apprentice for example, to take a pro-rated approach to their funding request. As a funder, we are unable to support retrospective funding, i.e. paying for any costs already incurred.

It can be used to support a variety of costs associated with employing an apprentice. Such as,

• Contribution towards salary costs
• Equipment for practical elements of the apprenticeship
• Clothing, such as PPE
• Course fees (if not covered by another party) – this may be for additional courses that enhance the apprenticeship offering.
• Travel to college and overnight stays – where the full cost isn’t covered by the training provider
• Your time invested (as a percentage of your total working week)