Employers – make your apprenticeship levy work for you

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If your organisation still has levy funds left, now is the time to make the most of them. Remember – small non-levy paying employers can also take advantage of the scheme through fund transfers

At Farnborough College of Technology, we work with hundreds of employers to help train their workforce, identify training needs, and guide them through the levy. Apprenticeships are available all the way up to degree and postgraduate level, and available across all sectors, from accounting to engineering, and human resources to paralegal.

Our goal is to help employers train their workforce with the support they need to start seeing results quickly, and with as little paperwork as possible.

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Expert Advice and Service

We have years of experience working with organisations just like yours – whether large, small, local, or national

Training for all

Upskill your existing workforce or recruit new members of staff. We can help with both, including advertising roles

Small employers and transferring levy funds

Employers who pay the apprenticeship levy can choose to transfer any unused funds to another employer, using the apprenticeship service. For example, a smaller employer who does not pay the levy. This would help them to pay for apprenticeship training and assessment.

If you want to support a smaller organisation by transferring levy funds, please email business@farn-ct.ac.uk.

For smaller employers, you can find other employers who may want to transfer funds by:

Speaking to our Business Services team by emailing business@farn-ct.ac.uk or by calling 01252 407299
Working with employers in your supply chain
Getting in touch with employers in your industry
Working with regional partners

A levy-paying employer can transfer a maximum of 25% of their levy funds.

https://youtu.be/6sH0gDiU9NM

An overview of how transfers of apprenticeship funds work

https://youtu.be/NC3RzRrvgoc

The information needed and the process of creating an employer account on the apprenticeship service

Contact us today to start making use of your levy

We recommend making an appointment with one of our Business Services Team to discuss your needs and to find out how you can make your levy work for you. It’s quick and easy. Email business@farn-ct.ac.uk or telephone 01252 407299.

You can also read more about the initiative on our levy webpage.

Apprenticeship levy FAQs

Find out more about the levy and remember, you can always speak to our Business Services team for advice:

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.

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. For more advice and information visit this page.

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.

Can I transfer my levy?

Employers who pay the apprenticeship levy and have unused apprenticeship funds can find employers who want to Receive a transfer in a number of ways. For example, you could:

– Work with employers you currently work with
– Get in touch with other employers in your industry
– Work with regional partners

Visit the government website to find out more

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.

How is the Government helping levy paying businesses to spend their funds?

The National Apprenticeship Service provides face to face and telephone support to levy paying employers to help them invest their levy funds and use apprenticeships to support their businesses.

Levy paying employers can now also transfer up to 25% of their levy funds to other employers. This will help to make sure the system is flexible, meets the needs of employers and will also help smaller businesses to invest in more training opportunities.

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.

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.

I am a levy paying business, will the Government spend my unspent levy funds on other things?

Employers can only spend their levy funds on apprenticeship training in England.

However, it is important to note that there is a difference between employers’ levy funds and the department’s ring-fenced apprenticeship budget. The departments’ budget funds all apprentices currently in training – those already in an apprenticeship and those just starting, those working for employers who pay the apprenticeship levy, and those working for employers who do not.

As businesses of all sizes recruit and train more apprentices, we expect there will be very little (if any) year on year underspends of the apprenticeships budget. We also expect to see levy payers spending an increasing proportion of their funds too.

My employee wants to do an apprenticeship programme that last longer than 24 months, but my levy funds expire after 24 months. How I can fund this?

The fact that an employer’s funds expire after 24 months in their apprenticeship service account doesn’t stop employers meeting the full costs of an apprenticeship that lasts longer than 24 months. New funds enter an employer’s account every month for as long as they pay the levy.

The costs of an apprenticeship are spread over the full length of the apprenticeship and are met in monthly instalments. The Government always uses the oldest funds in an account first to minimise the potential for funds to expire.

Only funds that are not spent will expire 24 months after they enter an employer’s account. If an employer does not have sufficient funds in their account to cover the monthly cost, the Government will pay 90% of the balance due.

Employers can use the National Apprenticeship Service’s ‘Estimate my apprenticeship funding’ tool to estimate how much your organisation will have available to spend on apprenticeships.

I pay the levy but I find the apprenticeship system bureaucratic and complicated. Who can I talk to for help?

Thousands of employers including top firms like Channel 4, Royal Mail and Lloyds Banking Group as well as public sector organisation like the NHS and the British Armed Forces are using their levy funds effectively to set up a range of high-quality apprenticeship programmes.

If businesses need help or advice, they can always speak to the College’s Business Services team via email at business@farn-ct.ac.uk, or the National Apprenticeship Service who provides face to face and telephone support to levy paying employers.

Written on: 14/04/2021 at 8:57 am