The Apprenticeship Levy

Why it's important to share

Apprenticeship levy pledge campaign

Share your levy!

Did you know that any unspent levy will be absorbed back into the treasury after 24 months. This means money that could be spent on developing the workforce in Essex is being taken away.

You can stop this happening and reclaim the benefits by sharing 20% of your Levy with either your own supply chain or any SME employer you would like to.

The Workforce team at South Essex College are working closely with employers to ensure that any unspent levy remains in Essex and is shared amongst local business.

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Changes in funding

At South Essex College we have all the information businesses need about funding and how employers can access vital funding to address their skills gaps.

It is without doubt that investing in your workforce will impact on your bottom line. If you have a skilled workforce who feel invested in, their productivity and loyalty will impact positively on your business output.

The landscape of apprenticeship funding has changed significantly in the last two years and as leaders within Essex it is important that we embrace change and ensure that we create a strategy that continues to allow SMEs to access apprenticeship funding.  It is imperative as leaders in South Essex, that we take the lead and ensure as much of our own levy funds are released to support the skills agenda in our local communities.  

You can take the lead on this by agreeing to release your unspent levy.

You can take the lead on this by agreeing to release your unspent levy.  South Essex College is leading the way in creating the pathway for you to do this. Our objective is to build a network of ‘Levy Employers’ to share their levy enabling both SME employers and employees to benefit as the economy grows. The success of the local economy through sharing and using local supply chains will create local job opportunities and the growth we all want and need. 

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Here are the facts

• 400 million pounds went unspent from levy accounts last year and was absorbed back into treasury, this is a criminal waste of money that should be totally focussed on apprenticeships and the development of your workforce
• In March 2020 SMEs will be able to access funds through their own DAS accounts, however there is no ‘new money’ in the system
• Colleges have small amounts of funding available for SMEs that could run out – this means SMEs will not be able to access vital apprenticeship funds.

The message from ministers is very clear

“levy payers need to release as much of their unspent fund as possible and make sure SMEs utilise this precious money wherever possible”

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Why share your Levy?

Essex chambers and employers all committed to work together to increase investment in our area and to support and upskill as many people as possible to meet employer needs.

• The government has reduced (since April) the amount of non-levy funding available to colleges and other providers across the country by over 50%. This has reduced the apprenticeship numbers employed by SMEs and micro businesses.  The South Essex employer base is predominantly SMEs so this has hit South Essex apprenticeship numbers very hard
• The government has agreed that levy-paying employers can share up to 25% of their levy pot to support other non-levy employers to recruit apprentices
• Sharing your Levy stops the vital cash being absorbed back into the government treasury
• The College will work with you to support this process as well as recruiting both the employers and the apprentices

We believe that this strategy will support local SMEs to recruit apprentices and develop the skill base of the local population.

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What do you need to do?

If you want to share or you want to discuss apprenticeships please make contact with either the college or the Chambers.