The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is urging the Government to cut job tax to help firms recruit apprentices.

A not-for-profit group, the FSB has called for a re-look at plans to hike National Insurance Contributions (NICs) to facilitate more workplace opportunities for young people as part of levelling up efforts.

Mike Cherry, FSB national chair, said: “Our apprentices are our future business leaders and innovators, and that’s why we should be doing all we can to create more of them.

“By looking again at its approach to NICs, the Government can make a real difference here – directly, by bringing down the immediate costs of taking an apprentice on, and indirectly, by freeing up more funds for recruitment and training at a moment when cash reserves are depleted.

“Small businesses disproportionately hire young people and those from disadvantaged groups when they create apprenticeships, so a targeted reintroduction of the hiring incentive that existed over lockdowns makes sense in the context of the levelling up agenda.”