The Apprenticeship Levy was introduced in April 2017 and is  designed to maximise and support the creation and funding of apprenticeship starts. 

Key facts:

• The levy  applies to any company where the annual payroll  bill is £3 million or more
• The rate for the levy is set at 0.5%of an employer’s payroll bill
•  The levy monies will be paid into the employers digital account, this will be topped up by 10%, and can then be used to purchase training from the chosen college or training provider
• Companies who have a salary budget over £3 million will pay the levy, regardless of whether they use the digital account or not
• Unspent monies will expire from the digital account 24 months from the date they were paid in

The levy is  collected from all employers by HMRC and placed into the apprenticeship funding pot. The only way that you can then ‘spend’ this money is by offering apprenticeship training to new or existing staff within your business. The funding will be paid directly from the apprenticeship funding pot to the college that you use for your training, with the Government topping up the pot by 10% for employers in England, meaning you will get out more than you are putting in.

We work with many large employers, supporting with training programmes to get the most from their levy payments. We can help with upskilling current staff, identifying aspiring/future talent to moving staff to the next level, or creating customised programmes for groups of apprentices incorporating your company values and priorities.

Employers falling under the levy payment threshold (£3 million) can still employ apprentices and will be able to access government support and funding for the apprentice (subject to eligibility).

If you would like more information or advice on how we can help you maximise your levy spend, or if you would like to support with recruiting apprentices, contact us on 0161 631 5555 or e-mail apprenticeships@salfordcc.ac.uk.