Updated guidance from the Department for Education on apprenticeships during the Coronavirus crisis has been published and contains a number of announcements relating to employment arrangements for apprentices.

These updates include confirmation that:

• Apprentices aged 19 and older can begin to resume on-site training;
• Apprentices who are made redundant but continue their study element can claim Universal Credit if they meet all eligibility criteria;
• A dedicated service for redundant apprentices will be launched shortly; and
• Temporary flexibility suspending the requirement that level two apprentices study and attempt level two functional skills assessment has been extended until 31 December 2020.

Full details of these updates can be read here.

The announcements come shortly after the Chancellor announced additional funding for apprenticeships at the Summer Economic Update on Wednesday 8 July 2020.

The apprenticeships funding will provide £2,000 to employers in England for every apprentice hired under the age of 25 and £1,500 for each newly-hired apprentice aged 25 or older.

The new funding is in addition to schemes already in place to support employers in taking on apprentices.