Information for employers

Funding and the Levy

Businesses can now use their Apprenticeship levy contributions towards the cost of tuition fees for their Apprentices.
To improve the skills of the UK workforce and to increase the number of apprenticeships from the current figure of approximately 1000 to 3 million by 2020. The Government has now introduced the Apprenticeship Levy.

The funding each organisation is eligible for is determined by a number of factors including, annual payroll, age of learner(s) and number of people employed. The Apprenticeship Funding Flowchart will help you navigate this.

Businesses with a wage bill above £3 million

All employers with a payroll of over £3 million automatically pay the Apprenticeship Levy of 0.5% to the Government through PAYE. The Government adds an extra 10% to these funds, which are held in a digital account and can then be used by the employer to spend on accredited apprenticeship programmes, such as those offered by the University of Winchester.

Businesses with a wage bill below £3 million

Employers with a payroll of less than £3 million do not pay the Levy but are still eligible for funding. The co-investment rate has changed for new apprenticeships starting on or after 1 April 2019. Employers will now pay 5% towards the cost of apprenticeship training. The government will pay the rest (95%) up to the funding band maximum.

Additional financial incentives

Organisations with fewer than 50 employees do not pay anything towards the cost of training an apprentice under 19 years of age, a person leaving care or with additional needs.

There are extra incentive payments of £1000 for any organisation taking on an apprentice under 19 years of age, a person leaving care or with additional needs.

Apprentice Wages

Apprentices are full time employees – they must be paid at least the minimum wage, although many employers pay significantly more. They are also entitled to time off to study – a minimum of 20% of their time should be “off-the-job training”.

What can you buy with funds in your apprenticeship service

You can only use funds in your account to pay for apprenticeship training and assessment for apprentices that work at least 50% of the time in England, and only up to the funding band maximum for that apprenticeship.

If the costs of training and assessment go over the funding band maximum, you will need to pay the difference with other funds from your own budget.

You can’t use funds in your account to pay for the other costs associated with your apprentices (such as wages, travel and subsidiary costs or setting up of an apprenticeship programme).

For further information about making your Apprenticeship Levy payments, and how to use them, please see the government’s information guide for employers.

Recruiting your apprentices

As your training provider, we can help support you with the process of recruiting an Apprentice.

Online

We will list your vacancy on the National Apprenticeship Service website, the most widely used database for apprenticeships across the country.

As well as this we recommend that you advertise your apprenticeship roles on your own website, as you would for any other role.
We also include all job vacancies with our employer partners on our own website.

Open Evenings and Assessment Centres

We hold a number of Open Evenings specifically for Apprenticeships, which give you an ideal opportunity to make contact with potential candidates.

As part of our service we can also offer you support with your own assessment process, by attending and contributing to your assessment centres or interviews.

For more information

To discuss how we can support you to recruit an Apprentice, please contact Stella.McKnight@winchester.ac.uk