Apprenticeships for larger businesses
At Weston College, our dedicated Levy Solution Service is already working with some of the region’s largest businesses to help them maximise the levy’s potential benefits when it comes to training their workforces.
We offer over 70 apprenticeships in around 50 sectors - from intermediate through to degree level.
Our dedicated team can help you maximise your return on investment - from the free recruitment service (worth approximately £2,000) to the expertise our team will bring; advising on the grants and funding options available for your business.
What puts Weston College ahead of other training providers is the quality and uniqueness of our provision - supported by dedicated and award-winning facilities and accolades - including our ISO27001 accreditation.
We continuously invest in our courses, lecturers, assessors and teaching spaces, meaning that you can have confidence in our service as we help you to create a motivated and skilled workforce
If your business’ annual payroll is over £3 million per year, you should already know about the apprenticeship levy which came into force in 2017. If not, click here to find out more about it.
Reforms for levy paying employers
If your company is paying the apprenticeship levy, you’re effectively paying into a pot of money that you can use to pay for apprentice training.
The levy is calculated at 0.5% of your payroll, minus a £15,000 allowance. This means that if 0.5% of your annual payroll is £15,000 or below you won’t have to pay the levy. The levy will be paid through PAYE.
You manage your levy funds from a digital account. As a levy paying employer, you get access to a digital apprenticeship service account. From here you can track your levy contributions and find training providers. You are able to authorise Weston College to manage this on your behalf.
The Government tops up your account by 10%. For every £1 that you pay into the apprenticeship levy, you’re able to spend £1.10 on apprenticeship training.
If you spend all of your funds, you’ll only have to pay 5% for further training. If you spend all of your levy funds, the funding rules for non-levy paying employers will apply to you and the Government will fund 95% of the cost of any further apprenticeships.
You can use the levy to fund apprenticeships. The levy funds can be used to pay for the training and assessment elements of an apprenticeship for either new or existing staff.
You don’t have to use the funds immediately. Everything you pay into the levy will be ring-fenced for two years, however you should start planning how to integrate apprenticeships you will lose access to your funds after the two year period has ended.
You can apply for incentives to help you employ apprentices. Get in touch for more information.
We can help you make sense of the levy. Weston College has developed a Levy Solution Service to help you navigate through these changes and make the most of the opportunities that the levy presents. Our dedicated Levy Solution Service is on hand to answer your questions and give you advice on how to maximise your use of the apprenticeship levy.
Example
An employer has 250 employees and each has a salary of £20,000.
The payroll total is £5 million, which means that the annual levy sum is £25,000. After taking into account the £15,000 allowance, this means that the company will pay £10,000 per year into the apprenticeship levy.
The Government will then top this figure up by 10%, which will give the company £11,000 to spend on apprenticeship training.
