Apprenticeships
Transform your business
Get Set for motivated, empowered people.
Elevate your workforce by investing in your current employees or recruiting an apprentice. Our wide range of Apprenticeship programmes supports employers who are looking to develop their existing employees or strengthen their teams with new apprentices.
Let us do the work for you. We will support you with the right apprenticeships for your current employees or prepare a shortlist of suitable and motivated people in the age group you require to meet your job specifications. All you have to do is choose the apprenticeship programme or the person that suits your business needs.
Upskill your employees
Get Set for a skilled workforce.
Anyone in your business, from entry-level to CEO, can enrol on a relevant apprenticeship. You can use apprenticeship training to fill key skills gaps in your business, boost motivation by investing in employee development and cut recruitment fees by retaining your current employees.
Through a combination of work and study by mixing on-the-job training and traditional learning, an apprenticeship means your employees still get to do a day-to-day real job while studying for a formal qualification. By the end of the apprenticeship, they will have gained the skills and knowledge needed to enhance your business from within.
Invest in your team
Get Set for making your Apprenticeship Levy work for you.
If you are a business with an annual wage bill over £3 million you will pay a levy of 0.5% of your total wage bill after the first £3 million. Including apprenticeship training into your Learning & Development strategy as a levy-paying business allows you to be strategic with CPD and smart with your budget. You can use your levy contribution to pay for apprenticeships and the government will top up your levy payment by a further 5%. If you do not use your levy to fund apprenticeship training and assessments after 24 months, you will lose it!
Get in touchGot a question?
Frequently asked questions.
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I am a business owner; do I need to pay the levy?
The levy is paid by large employers with a pay bill of over £3 million (they pay 0.5% of their total annual pay bill). Currently, only 2% of employers pay the apprenticeship levy, but this funding has helped directly support almost 50% of all apprenticeships in 2017/18.
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I am a levy-paying business, how can I access my funds?
Levy-paying employers access their funds through the online apprenticeship service. The funds in their accounts are available to spend on apprenticeship training in England.
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Will my levy funds only be spent on apprenticeships?
The levy is there to fund apprenticeship training for all employers. Any unspent levy funds are used to support existing apprentices to complete their training and to pay for apprenticeship training for smaller employers.
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Does the levy only help big businesses?
No, not at all. The levy is there to fund apprenticeship training for all employers. Smaller employers – those with a total annual pay bill of less than £3million – pay just 5% of the cost of their apprenticeship training and the Government pays the rest.
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I am a business owner and I am struggling to spend my levy funds?
We understand that employers want and need flexibility. To support this the Government extended the amount of time employers have to spend their levy funds from 18 to 24 months. Levy paying employers can now also transfer up to 25% of their Levy funds to other employers.
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What happens to unspent levy funds?
Employers have 24 months to use their funds once they enter their apprenticeship service account, after this point, their funds will expire. The funds expire to encourage levy paying employers to invest in high-quality training and assessment and to prevent levy payers from accruing very large balances. However, any unspent levy funds within each financial year are then used to support existing apprentices to complete their training, pay for apprenticeship training for smaller employers and additional payments to support apprentices.
Funding options
Get Set for funding an apprenticeship for
non-levy employers.
You can get help from the government to pay for apprenticeship training if you are a business that doesn’t pay the apprenticeship levy. You will pay 5% towards the cost of training and assessing an apprentice and the Government covers the rest up to the funding band maximum. You’ll agree on a payment schedule and pay the training provider directly for your 5% contribution. You might also receive an additional payment of £1,000 depending on the apprentice you hire.
If you employ fewer than 50 employees, the government pays 100% of the apprenticeship training costs for apprentices aged 16 to 18 and 19 to 24 with an education, health, and care plan provided by their local authority or who have been in the care of their local authority.
Get in touchGot a question?
Frequently asked questions.
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What funding you can get?
You can get money to go towards the cost of training and assessment. The amount you get depends on whether you pay the apprenticeship levy or not.
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What will I have to pay?
You will pay the wages of the apprentice in line with 5% towards the cost of training and assessing your apprentice. The Government will pay the rest (95%)
Finding the right apprenticeship
for your business.
We offer apprenticeship programmes in Digital, Business Skills, HR, and Education. Take a look at our catalogue of apprenticeship courses to find out which apprenticeships suit your business needs.
View our apprenticeship catalogue
