Employer recruitment incentives and grants

Future Works Employer Recruitment Incentive

Our Future Works Employer Recruitment Incentive (ERI) provides employers with a financial contribution towards the additional costs of recruiting and sustaining an individual in good quality employment. The purpose of the fund is to support employers and encourage recruitment of unemployed individuals into brand new job, sustainable employment opportunities and apprenticeships/traineeships. The funding can be utilised for staff wages and training costs.

This year we have three separate incentives that you can apply for based on the individual and opportunity you are looking to create.

Health, Disabilities and Reserved Benefits ERI

Reserved for individuals with disabilities and those on reserved benefits who are at risk of long-term unemployment (up to £8,000 based on contracted hours). This programme is supported by Perth and Kinross Local Employability Partnership (LEP) with funding from the Scottish Government's No-One Left Behind (NOLB) 2025/2026.

Parental ERI

Reserved for eligible parents (up to £8,000 based on contracted hours).

Must be a parent falling into one or more of the following categories:

• lone parent
• parents aged less than 25 years
• minority ethnic
• parent/child with disability
• youngest child aged under 1 year
• 3 or more children

Apprenticeship/Traineeship ERI

Reserved for new apprenticeships/traineeships (£4,000).

Rural Skills Training and Mentorship Programme

The Rural Skills Training and Mentoring Programme is funded by the Council and aims to support employers in rural Perthshire who provide opportunities within the rural skills sector. Employers can access up to £5,000 to cover training and mentoring costs for employees who have entered employment within the last 3 months.

The programme will run from April 2025 to March 2027, and each business can only access funding once during this period. It provides financial support to rural skills employers, helping them cover the initial costs of training and upskilling individuals entering the rural skills sector.

Eligibility for employers:

• must operate within the rural skills sector (for example: farming, agriculture, forestry, land management)
• must be based in rural Perth and Kinross
• must be an SME with 250 employees or fewer
• must provide a copy of the employee's contract of employment

Eligibility for employees:

• must reside in Perth and Kinross
• must be a new employee of less than 3 months

To apply for any of the funds, you will need to complete a funding application, which will be assessed based on eligibility and the content of your application.

For more information and to note your interest in applying, please email us at SkillsandEmployment@pkc.gov.uk to arrange further discussion.