COVID-19 has been a challenging time for every business across the globe. Beginning in March 2020, Coronavirus sent millions of employees to work from home. Businesses were expected to adapt to the virtual world overnight.
Since the first lockdown, SCCU has made changes within the business to support each learner, and further support businesses who take on an apprentice. In doing this, we have grown throughout the pandemic, taking each negative and turning it into a positive.
During the first lockdown, we were able to find support from the WMCA and had the ability to extend Levy Transfers, meaning that companies did not have to pay the course costs. For existing customers, we have helped small businesses upskill their employees, as well as providing opportunities for young people during such unprecedented times.
By extending the Levy Transfer, businesses who thought they may not see it to the end of the pandemic were given hope for their company as this gave them the chance to employ new staff and upskill old employees.
Here at SCCU, this opportunity was hugely beneficial and being able to carry out huge benefits to our customers whilst working remotely is something we have greatly enjoyed.
The Government has also provided great support to businesses throughout the pandemic.
For each apprentice an organisation takes on, they will be granted a lump sum of money from the Government. The amount of money is dependent on the age of the candidate, for each 16-18 year old, businesses will be offered up to £3,000. For each 19-24 year old businesses can gain £2,00 and for apprentices taken on above 25, organisations will receive £1,000.
During a time where businesses are struggling, this is a great opportunity for businesses and has been hugely popular. Not only will this provide financial support to businesses, but it will also support young people looking for jobs during a time which has been so incredibly challenging. Not forgetting, this will also encourage businesses to upskill their staff by putting them onto Apprenticeships, keeping people in jobs and providing young people with a brighter future.
Throughout 2020, SCCU has continued to support small businesses and young people through the most challenging year yet. If you’re interested in getting involved with SCCU, or taking on an apprentice, get in touch today!
