Thanks to the Liverpool City Region Skills Brokerage Service more than £1m in transferred Apprenticeship Levy cash will be used to fund hundreds of apprenticeships
More than £1m has been transferred from Apprenticeship Levy employers into businesses across Liverpool city region to support new apprenticeship starts.
Nine different Apprenticeship Levy organisations have transferred part of their Levy funds to 18 beneficiary organisations. So far, 240 apprentices have benefitted from this service. The transfer of these funds has been facilitated by the Skills Brokerage Service at Growth Platform, the Liverpool City Region’s Growth Company.
Apprenticeship Levy is paid by businesses with an annual wage bill of £3m or more and can only be used for apprenticeship training and assessment. Any payments not used within 24 months are recovered by central government.
But levy-paying employers can transfer up to 25% of their contributions to support the apprenticeship needs of other businesses who do not have access directly to levy funds.
READ MORE: Skills Brokers offer free advice for Liverpool city region firms
Joe Keegan, team leader for the Skills Brokerage Service at Growth Platform, said: “Our levy-paying businesses can play a key role in supporting apprenticeships across our city region by transferring unused levy to smaller local employers, helping them with the skills they need to grow as well as supporting people to progress within their chosen career.
“It is also about ensuring that revenue generated by large local businesses stays within the city region to support local skills needs.
One of the receiving beneficiary organisations was Caritas, a charity based in Wirral. They added: “The Skills Brokerage Team have been instrumental in helping us. Before speaking with them, we didn’t even know that a levy-transfer was possible.
“I could not recommend the team highly enough. Their knowledge, determination and professionalism almost pales in comparison to their passion, warmth and tenacity.”
Businesses across the city region that have transferred their levy include, Liverpool Football Club, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and shopping giant QVC.
Carmen Campbell, vocational training and funding partner at QVC, said: “QVC is delighted to be working with the Skills Brokerage Team in Growth Platform in order to identify beneficiary organisations looking to receive apprenticeship levy transfer.
“We are keen to ensure that local businesses benefit directly from our levy funds so they have an opportunity to develop the skills they need in their workforce.
“With the support of the Skills Brokerage team we have recently transferred apprenticeship levy funds to a third sector organisation and will continue to offer support, where we can, to other organisations within the Liverpool city region.”
Businesses who are interested to find out more about how they can utilise or transfer their unspent Apprenticeship Levy funds, as well as those interested in accessing Levy funds, should contact the Skills Brokerage Service who provide free impartial advice and guidance to businesses across the Liverpool city region. Click here to find out more.
The Skills Brokerage Service is funded by the European Social Fund & LCR Strategic Investment Fund.
