Many benefits come alongside employing apprentices for your company.
​
You have the opportunity to discover fresh, new talent while at the same time shaping them into skilled members of your team. Not to mention, you save on the cost of recruitment and gain access to government funding. In 2017 the apprenticeship levy was introduced. Its purpose? To improve the quality of apprenticeship training and, in turn, benefit businesses.
​
The goal is to give control to employers and to entice you into investing in apprenticeship training programs.
At *** we want the best for apprentices, so let's take a look at exactly what the apprenticeship levy can mean for your organisation, whether your company is big or small.
​
What Is the Apprenticeship Levy?
The apprenticeship levy is a government plan. It was created with the purpose of funding apprenticeships and raising the quality of the training programs. It offers support to employers by giving them more funds at their disposal, to be used in the development of training methods through financial investment.
​
Businesses will have the opportunity to utilise funding for their training program, although because apprenticeship regulations vary throughout the countries of the UK, the levy funds are only for use in England.
​
Because it's an English scheme, if you use money from the levy to finance your apprenticeship training, it is mandatory that they do at least 50% of their work in England.
​
Who Pays for It and How?
The apprenticeship levy is paid for by companies with a payroll of over three million annually.
​
The levy is charged at 0.5% of the yearly pay bill and paid to the HMRC. They collect the funds through PAYE every month, alongside UK taxes and National Insurance.
​
The money is saved in an apprenticeship service account, and you'll manage the finances from that account.
The employer pays the apprenticeship levy and declares it at the start of the UK tax year. If the payroll amount changes, the levy charge alters in order to reflect this.
​
When you pay your levy contributions each month, the government adds a 10% contribution along with it. Any money paid to the levy is to train the apprentice and is not to fund wages. If after 24 months you haven't used all the stored funds, the HMRC will reclaim them, including the 10% government contribution.
​
The reason for the time limit is to prompt you to take advantage of the money available and to use it in the development of your apprentice by investing in their training. It's an incentive to create a high-quality apprenticeship.
​
Whether schools have to pay into the apprenticeship levy depends on the type of school. If you're an academy with a pay bill that exceeds three million each year, or if you are a community-controlled school, then you are liable to pay. If the payroll is more than three million, voluntary aided schools are also liable.
​
The benefit to the inclusion of schools in the grand scheme is that it creates a training program that trains staff in a way best suited to the school.
​
How Will It Benefit My Business?
The apprenticeship levy means that there is more funding available for apprentices, and because of this, you have the opportunity to select individuals to train that genuinely benefit your organisation.
​
You gain the freedom to select who, when, and how many apprentices you take on.
​
With the funds from the apprenticeship levy, you can opt to train a brand-new apprentice or, if more beneficial, use the payment to upskill a current employee.
​
Training providers receive the monthly payment until the apprentice either completes the program, or they choose to leave, The best part is that you don't even have to pay into it to benefit.
​
How Do I Access Funding?
Even if you don't pay into the apprenticeship levy, you can still receive funding through it. In fact, only 2% of employers pay into the scheme, yet it is an asset to many others.
​
If you're an employer who pays into the apprenticeship levy, then you access your funding through the online apprenticeship account. If you don't pay into the apprenticeship levy, however, then you have either the option of co-investment or levy transfer.
​
Co-Investment
As the employer, you share the cost of training and assessing apprentices alongside the government. The government pays 95%, leaving the remaining 5% for you to cover. This is available for companies with over fifty employees. Under fifty and the government pays more.
​
Levy Transfer
With a levy transfer, you receive funds from an organisation that has paid into the levy. From the funds that they haven't used, they can transfer 25% to you to cover the full cost of your apprenticeship training program.
​
The employer paying into the apprenticeship can transfer their unused funds to a company in their supply chain or a connected charity. It can even be used to support a local business.
​
Sign Me Up
To sign up, just register for an apprenticeship service account on the government website. To do this, you need your email address, the government gateway login for your organisation, and the authority to both add PAYE schemes to the account and to accept an employer agreement.
​
Also, if you don't pay into the apprenticeship levy, then you need your PAYE scheme reference number.
​
Apprenticeship Training
Apprenticeship training is vital for businesses and individuals, and it urges you to invest in training.
​
When you employ an apprentice, you take a hand in shaping the development of their career. The apprentice learns on the job, gains practical experience, and earns income.
​
If you choose to make the most of the apprenticeship levy in the UK, then head on over to Big Creative Education and take a look at how our apprenticeships work.
​
If you're looking for some creative employees, then you might just find them at *** in London.