The Graduate Role Incentive offers local businesses 20% of the first year salary up to £6,000 and an employer National Insurance rebate for each graduate hired through supported roles, to encourage the provision of graduate-level opportunities available for those returning to the Isle of Man.

Eligible employees must be individuals who have graduated from university/a higher education institution within the past two years. 

The Graduate Role Incentive has been formed under the Financial Assistance Scheme and has been implemented to encourage expansion of the Island’s graduate workforce, helping to grow the working population in the Isle of Man.

The Graduate Role Incentive will support new jobs which will incentivise businesses in all sectors to bring new or returning graduates to the Island as employees.

Who can apply? 

The Graduate Role Incentive is available for Isle of Man businesses, operating in any sector, who meet the following criteria: 

• Have a permanent establishment/place of business in the Island;
• Are an eligible business under the Regulations (see further information in Scheme Guidelines);
• Are up to date with all tax (including VAT) and National Insurance obligations including returns and payments.

Which roles will be supported?

Supported roles must meet the following criteria:

• Must be full-time, regular employment lasting not less than one year;
• Require an RQF Level 6 qualification or higher in the job description;
• Is a new job to grow the firm’s existing headcount. Where overall headcount is reduced, it must show an increase in headcount in the section of the business the role has been created in;
• Starts at a minimum gross salary of £21,000 per annum.

Assistance Available 

Assistance is by way of a grant, paid retrospectively to the employer, of 20% of the salary paid to the relevant employee for their first year of employment on the Island up to a maximum of £6,000 per graduate. For the purposes of this calculation, the amount of the salary will exclude bonuses, discretionary payments and the cost to the business of Income Tax, National Insurance and superannuation costs.

In addition, an Employer NI refund is available subject to the same requirements up to a maximum of £3,055 per employee. The total payment shall be paid in a single lump sum in arrears. 

How to apply

Before applying, eligible businesses must approach the Department for Enterprise to establish whether an application can be made for the relevant role.

Once this is established, applicants will be asked to submit the following information: 

• A signed application form (available under 'Downloadable Documents');
• A summary of the business plan explaining how the applicant plans to increase its workforce on the Island. This must include:
  • (in the cases of existing businesses) details of the applicant’s current workforce, specifically numbers of directly employed, permanent employees, both full-time and part-time, the latter also expressed as FTEEs;
  • details as to jobs and salaries in respect of which assistance is claimed;
  • A job description for the vacancy the graduate would be filling to ensure it is suitable graduate-level employment;
  • Development plans for the graduate to ensure the employment has sufficient opportunities for development, including criteria required for the graduate to be retained following the end of the period for which financial support is available;
• Permission for the Department to obtain information from the Treasury as to the applicant and the applicant’s employees in respect of whom assistance is sought (which will in turn require the applicant to obtain the requisite permissions from its own employees).

Further information on the Graduate Role Incentive can be found in the Scheme Guidelines under Appendix 6B - Incoming Graduate Role Incentive.