What is it?

Introduced in April 2017, the apprenticeship levy is a Government initiative to fund apprenticeships. The Government committed to 3 million apprenticeship starts in England by 2020. So, the levy was created to fund this. Their goal? To encourage more people to hire apprentices – and help reduce skills gaps in the UK.

Who pays the apprenticeship levy?

Employers in England with an annual wage bill in excess of £3million per annum will pay 0.5% of that wage bill into a closed levy account that they will only be able to spend on apprenticeships.

How is it paid?

Funds will be taken in month – and available to spend in the following. All payments will be ‘one month in arrears’. Employers will receive a 10% top up to monthly funds entering their Apprenticeship Service account.

Does it expire?

Funds will expire after 24 months unless they are spent on apprenticeship training. This will also apply to any top-ups in the account.

TYPE OF LEVY FUNDING

NON levy paying business

As an employer that doesn’t pay the apprenticeship levy, you pay just 5% towards the cost of training and assessing an apprentice.

The government will pay the rest of the training up to the funding band maximum.

You’ll pay the training provider directly and agree on a payment schedule.

If you employ fewer than 50 employees, the government will pay 100% of the apprenticeship training costs up to the funding band maximum for apprentices.

Levy paying business

As an employer with a pay bill of more than £3 million, you’re required to pay the apprenticeship levy. You can manage funds using the apprenticeship service and spend it on training and assessing your apprentices.

All apprenticeships are arranged through the apprenticeship service.

To use the apprenticeship service, employers will need to set up an account

How to sign in / create an account:

https://www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship

When you have an account, you can then select roles and permissions for the account. When set up you can add Apprentice providers you can also add and manage Apprentices.

You can view how much levy you have available.

There is a helpdesk that you can contact for any required support. helpdesk@manage-apprenticeships.service.gov.uk

Account Manager – create an account to manage apprentices:

• Get apprenticeship funding

• Find and save apprenticeship

• Find, save, and manage training providers

• Recruit apprentices

• Add and manage apprenticeships

The Institute for Apprenticeships & Technical Education (IFATE) website can be accessed which will provide details of all live Apprenticeship standards.

You can search by vocation, postcode, location. This will give you a list of apprenticeships and the various providers who can deliver the apprenticeship for you.

You can choose to work with a further education college or a training provider who are specialists in their field.

Some providers deliver the apprenticeships remotely, others have a blended approach and for some qualifications a day/block release may be required.

Events Apprenticeships will provide details of training providers who have knowledge in our sector on the website

Apprenticeships have different levels ranging from level 2 (no experience) to level 7 masters that can all be funded from the levy.

The event apprenticeships start at level 3

Duration and costs for all apprenticeship framework are available to view on the Institute for Apprenticeships & Technical Education website.

https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/?

www.eventsapprenticeships.org

You can advertise your apprenticeship vacancies through the government website these vacancies can be added by yourself or your training provider.

You can also advertise on your own jobs page.

You can fully recruit yourself or get the provider to support with the recruitment process.

You can also advertise your apprenticeship vacancies on our website

Find an apprenticeship - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

All potential apprentices must complete an initial assessment for maths and English.

Your training provider will fully support with this during the recruitment process.

This initial assessment will ensure the individual receives any extra support they may need whilst on their apprenticeship.

Maths and English are mandatory requirements for the successful completion of all apprenticeships (although there are discussions taking place regarding which apprenticeships this will be relevant for – details will be available on the website).

A minimum level has been set by the government as follows:

Level 3 apprenticeships, must achieve a Level 2 English and maths prior to taking their end-point assessment/exam.

Level 1 Functional Skills are equivalent to a GCSE Grade D to E (3 to 2), and Level 2 Functional Skills are equivalent to GCSE Grade A* to C (9 to 4).

When a candidate has been selected you will follow your usual company recruitment process.

All apprentices must receive a contract for the minimum of 30 hours. This is inclusive of their off the job hours.

An annualised contract works well with Events Apprentices so they can work the hours that fit with business need.

All apprenticeships have a different duration, the minimum is one year and a day, apprentices cannot be employed for less than a year.

Apprentices are entitled to the apprentice rate if they’re either:

aged under 19

aged 19 or over and in the first year of their apprenticeship

Example:

An apprentice aged 21 in the first year of their apprenticeship is entitled to a minimum hourly rate of £4.81.

Apprentices are entitled to the minimum wage for their age if they both:

• Are aged 19 or over

• Have completed the first year of their apprenticeship

Example:

An apprentice aged 21 who has completed the first year of their apprenticeship is entitled to a minimum hourly rate of £9.18.

Many companies pay more than the minimum requirement.

Duration examples:

• Live event technician – 30 months

• Event Assistant - 18 months

• Commis chef - 12 months

• Plus 3 months at end for end point assessment/exams

All apprentices must have a mentor to support them whilst at work.

They will receive a review with their learning coach and their work mentor every 12 weeks.

Progression pathways are a great way to recruit an employee and keep them within your business.

Progression routes:

Events Assistant level 3 = 15 months progression to Level 4 Event Co ordinator (example only, progression routes are being finalised alongside the Institute of Event Management).

Hospitality team member level 2 =15 months progression to Hospitality supervisor level 3 =15 months = 30 months within the business potential to stay with company in a full-time role.