From spring 2017, the way the government funds apprenticeships in England is changing. Some employers will be required to contribute to a new apprenticeship levy, and there will be changes to the funding for apprenticeship training for all employers. To view the full briefing paper for more detailed information, please follow the link below:

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As the policy will continue to evolve throughout October 2016, we will continue to provide you with the most accurate information on the significant changes. We will be holding an ‘Employer Forum’ in October to further update colleagues in line with the next release.

All companies

• All apprenticeships started before 1 May will be funded through to completion according to the existing rules
• The new apprenticeship funding system will be made up of 15 bands, with the upper limit of those bands ranging from £1,500 to £27,000. All existing and new apprenticeship frameworks and Standards will be allocated to the nearest funding band based on the current rate of funding. This single funding band will be regardless of the ages of the learner, or geographic location
• Maths & English at Level 2 will continue to be funded, where needed in an apprenticeship. Training providers will be funded for this directly by the government, rather than the funds coming from the employer levy
• You will need to choose the training you’d like your apprentice to receive throughout their apprenticeship. Apprenticeship training can either be on a new apprenticeship standard, or on an existing apprenticeship framework. These are the 2 different types of apprenticeship training
• If you’re spending funds in your digital account, or accessing funding through co-investment, you can only spend it with an approved training provider. All employers will be able to access a register of approved training providers through the digital apprenticeship service

Non-Levy paying companies (& SME’s) (Any company who’s gross PAYE is below £3 million)

• The government will fund 100% of the cost of an apprenticeship for a 16-18 year old for businesses with fewer than 50 employees
• For learners over the age of 18 (unless part of an incentivised group of learners), Government will ask you to make a contribution to the cost of this training and they will pay the rest, up to the maximum amount of government funding available for that apprenticeship

Levy paying companies (Any company who’s gross PAYE bill is £3 million and above)

• Start date for the new system comes into effect on 1 May 2017, so that levy paying employers can use funds in their digital account to pay for training from the first month they declare levy payable through the PAYE system.
• Government is seeking views on proposals to allow employers to transfer 10% of their funds to another employer’s digital account from 2018
• As payments are taken from the digital account monthly, you just need to have enough funds in your account to cover the monthly cost of each apprenticeship you have chosen
• If you don’t have enough in your account in a particular month, you will be asked to make a contribution to the extra cost of training and to pay this directly to the provider, rather than through your digital account. Some government support will be available to help you meet these additional costs, up to the maximum amount of funding available for that apprenticeship.