To ask the Minister for the Economy to outline the work she is undertaking to (i) equip; and (ii) encourage, small businesses to take on more apprentices.

My Department’s ApprenticeshipsNI and Higher Level Apprenticeship programmes are demand-led, with employers establishing apprenticeship opportunities in line with business need.

DfE fully funds the off-the-job training element of an apprenticeship, investing over £45 million annually across the ApprenticeshipsNI and Higher-Level Apprenticeship programmes – a significant increase over recent years. This funding ensures that all employers are not financially liable for the delivery of apprenticeship training.

For SMEs, which form the backbone of our economy, support is given to incentivise employers to take on apprentices in the form of Employer Incentive Payments. These vary from £670 to £2,008 and are given to employers per completed framework to offset costs.

The Apprenticeship Action Plan recognises the need to encourage more employers to consider recruiting apprentices and includes deliverables such as piloting Apprenticeship Navigators to support SMEs employing their first apprentices and commissioning research to quantify the financial impact of the apprenticeship system on individual businesses and the economy.