Employers
Benefits of Training Your Staff
Training improves business performance, profit and staff morale. Your staff will acquire new skills, increasing their contribution to the business and in building their self-esteem.
Training your staff can result in better customer service, better work safety practices and productivity improvements.
Improve your bottom line
Deliver real returns to your bottom line, with apprenticeships helping you to improve productivity and in being more competitive. Training apprentices can also be more cost effective, than hiring skilled staff, leading to lower overall training and recruitment costs.
Fill your skills gaps
Deliver skills designed around your business needs, providing the skilled workers with what you need for the future. Apprenticeships can help you to meet the specialist skills you need to keep pace with the latest technology and working practices in your sector.
Motivate your workforce
Apprentices tend to be eager, motivated, flexible and loyal to the company that invested in them. Remember, an apprentice is with you because they want to be, they have made an active choice to learn on the job and a commitment to a specific career.
Benefits in numbers
Listed below are some of the benefits of hiring apprentices that were taken from the Department for Education's surveys:
Training your staff can result in better customer service, better work safety practices and productivity improvements.
Improve your bottom line
Deliver real returns to your bottom line, with apprenticeships helping you to improve productivity and in being more competitive. Training apprentices can also be more cost effective, than hiring skilled staff, leading to lower overall training and recruitment costs.
Fill your skills gaps
Deliver skills designed around your business needs, providing the skilled workers with what you need for the future. Apprenticeships can help you to meet the specialist skills you need to keep pace with the latest technology and working practices in your sector.
Motivate your workforce
Apprentices tend to be eager, motivated, flexible and loyal to the company that invested in them. Remember, an apprentice is with you because they want to be, they have made an active choice to learn on the job and a commitment to a specific career.
Benefits in numbers
Listed below are some of the benefits of hiring apprentices that were taken from the Department for Education's surveys:
- 99% of apprenticeship completers reported gaining skills during their apprenticeship. These skills were then broken down:
- The main skills gained were related to their current or desired area of work (94%);
- Skills that can be used across a range of jobs (92%);
- Communication skills (88%);
- Collaboration and team working (85%).
- Among completers, 39% had since been promoted, 65% had received a pay rise, and 34% had received both.
- Improved staff retention was also commonly reported at 76% of employers who trained existing employees as apprentices.
- 94% of apprentices who have completed their apprenticeships have secured a job or went on to further learning
- 69% of apprentices who have completed their apprenticeships were still employed by the same employer with whom they completed their apprenticeship with.
- 78% improved productivity for employers within their organisations.
- 62% improved the employers image within the sector.
- 64% brought new innovative ideas that apprentices bring to the employers organisations.
- 85% of other employers stated that they would recommend apprenticeships to other employers.
What are Apprenticeships?
They are work-based training programmes designed around the needs of employers, which lead to national recognised qualifications. You can use Apprenticeships to train both new and existing employees who are moving into a new or changed job role and need to learn new skills. Funding is available to train apprentices.
Apprenticeships are designed by the Sector Skills Councils, while the National Apprenticeship Service helps to fund the training. Business representatives from the relevant industry sector work with the Sector Skills Councils to develop the course content. Because they genuinely understand your business, the training will be relevant for your industry.
Over 100,000 employers in over 160,000 workplaces offer frameworks across a wide range of industry sectors.
Depending on the sector and job role an Apprenticeship can take anything between one and four years to complete. It is a package of on-the-job training and qualifications.
Apprenticeships can help businesses across all sectors by offering a route to harness fresh new talent.
UK businesses consider skills shortages and recruitment difficulties a bigger threat to performance than soaring oil prices and declining consumer spending, and more than a quarter of these rate this form of vocational training higher than any other qualification.
Apprenticeships ensure that your workforce has the practical skills and qualifications your organisation needs now and in the future. The mixture of on and off job learning ensures they learn the knowledge, skills and behaviours that work best for your business.
Over 130,000 workplaces offer apprentices places because they understand the benefits that apprentices bring to their business - increased productivity, improves competitiveness and a committed, competent work-force.
Apprenticeships are designed by the Sector Skills Councils, while the National Apprenticeship Service helps to fund the training. Business representatives from the relevant industry sector work with the Sector Skills Councils to develop the course content. Because they genuinely understand your business, the training will be relevant for your industry.
Over 100,000 employers in over 160,000 workplaces offer frameworks across a wide range of industry sectors.
Depending on the sector and job role an Apprenticeship can take anything between one and four years to complete. It is a package of on-the-job training and qualifications.
Apprenticeships can help businesses across all sectors by offering a route to harness fresh new talent.
UK businesses consider skills shortages and recruitment difficulties a bigger threat to performance than soaring oil prices and declining consumer spending, and more than a quarter of these rate this form of vocational training higher than any other qualification.
Apprenticeships ensure that your workforce has the practical skills and qualifications your organisation needs now and in the future. The mixture of on and off job learning ensures they learn the knowledge, skills and behaviours that work best for your business.
Over 130,000 workplaces offer apprentices places because they understand the benefits that apprentices bring to their business - increased productivity, improves competitiveness and a committed, competent work-force.
What is Apprenticeship Levy?
The Apprenticeship Levy is a levy on UK employers to fund new apprenticeships. Using the Digital Apprenticeships Service, the control for apprenticeship funding will be put in the hands of employers. The levy will be charged at a rate of 0.5% of an employer's pay bill. Each employer will receive an allowance of £15,000 to offset against their levy payment.
Levy vs Non-Levy
The government apprenticeship levy is paid by the companies that have a payroll of more than £3 million. It is charged at 0.5% of the total payroll and is collected monthly through PAYE.
If your payroll is less than £3 million, you do not pay any levy but pay 5% of the apprenticeship cost, depending on the age of the apprenticeship.
What is Non-Levy?
From April 2021, all new apprenticeships that start with TrainPlus will need to be registered on the Education and Skills Funding Agency's (ESFA) online apprenticeship service. This service ensures the funding for your apprenticeships is reserved by the government. Apprentices aged 16-18 are fully funded by the ESFA and attract a £1000 incentive payment (£500 paid at 90 and 365 days). For apprentices that are aged 19+, the government fund 95% of the full course cost. As a non-levy employer you will still be expected to pay TrainPlus 5% of the course value. An exception to this rule are learners who are aged 19-25 who are care leavers, these will be fully funded by the ESFA.
The Apprenticeship Service aims to provide an easy and accessible way to track apprentices status and funding for both the employer and the provider.
In order to set up your account you will need your PAYE scheme reference number for your organisation, as well as permission from your organisation to add these schemes and approve training. The person who sets up the account will become the owner of the account and may invite other users later on. Once you set up the account you can grant permissions to TrainPlus so that we may manage apprenticeships and funding on your behalf.
The Apprenticeship Levy is a levy on UK employers to fund new apprenticeships. Using the Digital Apprenticeships Service, the control for apprenticeship funding will be put in the hands of employers. The levy will be charged at a rate of 0.5% of an employer's pay bill. Each employer will receive an allowance of £15,000 to offset against their levy payment.
Levy vs Non-Levy
The government apprenticeship levy is paid by the companies that have a payroll of more than £3 million. It is charged at 0.5% of the total payroll and is collected monthly through PAYE.
If your payroll is less than £3 million, you do not pay any levy but pay 5% of the apprenticeship cost, depending on the age of the apprenticeship.
What is Non-Levy?
From April 2021, all new apprenticeships that start with TrainPlus will need to be registered on the Education and Skills Funding Agency's (ESFA) online apprenticeship service. This service ensures the funding for your apprenticeships is reserved by the government. Apprentices aged 16-18 are fully funded by the ESFA and attract a £1000 incentive payment (£500 paid at 90 and 365 days). For apprentices that are aged 19+, the government fund 95% of the full course cost. As a non-levy employer you will still be expected to pay TrainPlus 5% of the course value. An exception to this rule are learners who are aged 19-25 who are care leavers, these will be fully funded by the ESFA.
The Apprenticeship Service aims to provide an easy and accessible way to track apprentices status and funding for both the employer and the provider.
In order to set up your account you will need your PAYE scheme reference number for your organisation, as well as permission from your organisation to add these schemes and approve training. The person who sets up the account will become the owner of the account and may invite other users later on. Once you set up the account you can grant permissions to TrainPlus so that we may manage apprenticeships and funding on your behalf.
If you have any other questions feel free to email or call us.
What is Levy?
Two years ago, the government introduced the apprenticeship levy to create long term sustainable funding for apprenticeships and to give employers more control to provide their staff with a range of training opportunities.
The levy means there is more money available than ever before for apprenticeship training and allows employers to choose which apprenticeships they offer, how many and when.
Despite this progress, there are still some misconceptions about how the levy works. Here are some common questions, answered:
I am a business owner; do I need to pay the levy?
The levy means there is more money available than ever before for apprenticeship training and allows employers to choose which apprenticeships they offer, how many and when.
Despite this progress, there are still some misconceptions about how the levy works. Here are some common questions, answered:
I am a business owner; do I need to pay the levy?
- The levy is paid by large employers with a pay bill of over £3 million (they pay 0.5% of their total annual pay bill). Currently, only 2% of employers pay the apprenticeship levy, but this funding has helped directly support almost 50% of all apprenticeships in 2017/18.
- Levy paying employers access their funds through the online apprenticeship service. The funds in their accounts are available to spend on apprenticeship training in England. For more advice and information visit.
- The levy is there to fund apprenticeship training for all employers. Any unspent levy funds are used to support existing apprentices to complete their training and to pay for apprenticeship training for smaller employers.
- No, not at all. The levy is there to fund apprenticeship training for all employers. Smaller employers – those with a total annual pay bill of less than £3million – pay just 5% of the cost of their apprenticeship training and the Government pays the rest.
- The National Apprenticeship Service provides face to face and telephone support to levy paying employers to help them invest their levy funds and use apprenticeships to support their businesses.
- Levy paying employers can now also transfer up to 25% of their levy funds to other employers. This will help to make sure the system is flexible, meets the needs of employers and will also help smaller businesses in investing in more training opportunities.
- We understand that employers want and need flexibility. To support this the Government extended the amount of time employers have to spend their levy funds from 18 to 24 months. Levy paying employers can now also transfer up to 25% of their Levy funds to other employers.
- Yes. The latest figures show that since the levy was introduced on 6 April 2017 it has directly supported 312,900 people to start their apprenticeship journey.
- Employers have 24 months to use their funds once they enter their apprenticeship service account, after this point, their funds will expire. The funds expire to encourage levy paying employers to invest in high-quality training and assessment and to prevent levy payers from accruing very large balances. However, any unspent levy funds within each financial year are then used to support existing apprentices to complete their training, pay for apprenticeship training for smaller employers and additional payments to support apprentices.
- Employers can only spend their levy funds on apprenticeship training in England.
- However, it is important to note that there is a difference between employers’ levy funds and the department’s ring-fenced apprenticeship budget. The departments’ budget funds all apprentices currently in training – those already in an apprenticeship and those just starting, those working for employers who pay the apprenticeship levy, and those working for employers who do not.
- As businesses of all sizes recruit and train more apprentices, we expect there will be very little (if any) year on year underspends of the apprenticeships budget. We also expect to see levy payers spending an increasing proportion of their funds too.
- The fact that an employer’s funds expire after 24 months in their apprenticeship service account doesn’t stop employers meeting the full costs of an apprenticeship that lasts longer than 24 months. New funds enter an employer’s account every month for as long as they pay the levy.
- The costs of an apprenticeship are spread over the full length of the apprenticeship and are met in monthly instalments. The Government always uses the oldest funds in an account first to minimise the potential for funds to expire.
- Only funds that are not spent will expire 24 months after they enter an employer’s account. If an employer does not have sufficient funds in their account to cover the monthly cost, the Government will pay 90% of the balance due.
- Thousands of employers including top firms like Channel 4, Royal Mail and Lloyds Banking Group as well as public sector organisation like the NHS and the British Armed Forces are using their levy funds effectively to set up a range of high-quality apprenticeship programmes.
- If businesses need help or advice, they can always speak to the National Apprenticeship Service who provides face to face and telephone support to levy paying employers.