Employers Don’t Miss Out On Hiring An Apprentice

Latest figures reveal that 80% of levy-paying employers have yet to hire an apprentice. Data supplied by the Government’s Education and Skills Funding Agency reveals that only 14 per cent of the total funds paid by apprenticeship levy employers have been spent, with four in five levy-paying businesses yet to take on a single apprentice. Between April 2017 and December 2018, employers drew £480 million from digital apprenticeship service accounts, leaving more than £3 billion unspent.

Levy paying employers are being encouraged to utilise their apprenticeship accounts – to hire an apprentice to close crucial skills gaps and encourage business growth. From May, unspent levy funds will return to the Treasury on a monthly basis and employers will miss out.

(Harrods Fashion & Textile Apprentices at the FTA)

Fashion Technology Academy / Fashion Enter CEO Jenny Holloway comments:

“I think fundamentally the idea of a levy, which is almost a concealed tax that is going into the apprenticeship fund, is a good idea. The problem is how the employer can access that path and all the information that is required, it’s a whole new system and these big employers are busy people with their day jobs to do. Suddenly they are having to go into a system called IDAMS (Identity and Access Management System) and the background notes can be 60 – 70 pages long and within the same academic year there might be a version 2 and a version 3. So it’s more about this process of accessing paperwork that’s required behind the scenes. Small SME’s are finding that they can’t access the funding streams and essentially what needs to happen is that the system has got to be made much simpler for access.”

If you would like to hire an apprentice but have yet to get to grips with the Levy system we can help. Fashion Enter is England’s leading training provider for the Fashion and Textiles Apprenticeships. Our team of experts are well placed to help employers understand the impact of the Levy and to help plan, develop and deliver Apprenticeship programmes.

We offer flexible Apprenticeships in a range of subjects and we’ll work with your organisation to identify the right mix of training / qualifications to meet your business needs. We’re also playing a key role in developing new Trailblazer Apprenticeship standards.

We already deliver apprenticeships for many leading organisations including ASOS, Marks & Spencer, New Look, Topshop, Topman, Jigsaw, Hobbs, M&Co, People Tree, Moseley Road, N16 Vintage, Lipstick Boutique, Finery of London and many more.

To find out more about how Fashion Enter can help you click here.