Are you aware of how the Apprenticeship Levy will affect your business?

With the new Apprenticeship Levy coming into effect in April, we have been working with our business partner the BPIF to make members aware of the upcoming changes and how they may affect their businesses.

A Twitter Q&A session was held last month to allow members, and the wider industry, to ask any questions they had regarding the changes.

Some of the top questions and answers are listed below:

Q: What kind of things will the #ApprenticeshipLevy allow businesses to do with funding?
A: The money can ONLY be spent on apprenticeships.

Q: Can businesses choose their own apprenticeship training providers?
A: Yes they can! As long as the training provider is on the government's RoATP (Register of Approved Training Providers).

Q: If a company is not a levy payer will they have to pay a contribution for training?
A: Yes they will. Non-levy paying companies will pay 10% of the training fee and government will pay the remaining 90%.

Q: Does the levy only apply to companies in England?
A: No - the #ApprenticeshipLevy applies to all businesses in the UK. However, the new funding rules only apply in England.

Q: Currently 16-18 year old learners are fully funded by the government, will this remain under the Levy?
A: Only non-levy paying firms with <50 employees will receive full funding. There is a £1,000 incentive payment for all employing 16-18yr olds.

Q: When can Levy payers start taking on new apprentices?
A: Apprentices can be signed up under the new funding rules from 1 May 2017.

If you are thinking of hiring an apprentice this year and would like our support on training and development - please don't hesitate to contact me.