Non levy employers, i.e. SME’s whose wage bills are less than £3m per annum, and training providers can now directly access non levy funded apprenticeship spaces without a sub contract, meaning they will not have to pay a management fee and will have more money to deliver the skills and training required for apprentices.
This is fantastic news as just before the first lockdown there were many problems in terms of non-levy employers and training providers accessing funded apprenticeship training in England. The situation took a turn for the worse in the summer with many training providers with existing contracting arrangements being turned down for non-levy contracts. With just over 1% of the entire industry paying the levy this meant that around 98%+ of employers could not access any of the 15 Standards that have been developed over the past few years.
This has now been resolved and until 31 March 2021, non-levy employers can also continue to arrange apprenticeships with training providers who hold existing non-levy contracts with the ESFA. From 1 Apr 2021 all new starts with non-levy employers will be through the Apprenticeships Service.
You can also access the attached document below (with supporting information)
If you are an employer thinking about taking on an apprentice please email jenni@fashion-enter.com and we can assist with creating a job description, recruitment, enrolment and the training