Apprenticeships reforms

What are the Government reforms?

The Government is set to increase the number of apprenticeships delivered in England to three million by 2020. In April 2017, the way apprenticeships were funded in England changed significantly. So why not let Learning & Skills continue to support you through the process?

Employer Reforms Fact Sheet [pdf document]

New standards

The Government has developed employer focus groups. These groups have devised the new standards. These are around the specific skills, competencies, behaviours and attitudes required for jobs. These standards include an assessment plan. Apprentices are assessed at the end of the course in an end point assessment.

Government website - Apprenticeships Standards [external link]

Funding bands

Each standard will be linked to one of fifteen funding bands. The employer and training provider will negotiate a price before the apprenticeship starts. This will be paid in instalments to the provider. The price paid will depend on the type of employer they are.

Funding bands
Number	Band Upper Limit
1	£1,500
2	£2,000
3	£2,500
4	£3,000
5	£3,500
6	£4,000
7	£4,500
8	£5,000
9	£6,000
10	£7,000
11	£8,000
12	£9,000
13	£10,000
14	£11,000
15	£12,000
16	£13,000
17	£14,000
18	£15,000
19	£16,000
20	£17,000
21	£18,000
22	£19,000
23	£20,000
24	£21,000
25	£22,000
26	£23,000
27	£24,000
28	£25,000
29	£26,000
30	£27,000

Employer type

There will be two main types of employer:

Levy Paying Employer
Non-Levy Paying Employer

Levy paying employer

If an employer has a wage bill of over £3 million they will pay a levy rate of 0.5% of their paye bill. This will be collected through the PAYE system. The money will go into a digital account that will be managed by the Digital Apprenticeship Service (DAS). The Government will apply a 10% top up to the funds entering the account. So for every £1.00, the employer will get £1.10 in their account. The employer can then use this money to pay for the apprenticeship provision they require. If this money runs out they will revert to the “Co Investment” model. This is used for Non-Levy Paying Employers below.

Non-levy paying employer

These employers will pay 5% of the negotiated costs and the Government will pay the other 95%. This is called “Co Investment”. The employer will be expected to pay the 5% to the training provider to get the Government funding.

If the employer employs a 16-18 year old and has under 50 employees they will not be required to pay any contribution towards the training. It will be fully funded by the Government.

Incentives

There are also financial incentives for employing:

16-18 year olds

Government website - How the Levy Will Work [external link]

For more information please contact Learning & Skills on 01325 405601 or email l&[email protected].