Apprenticeships events

Apprenticeships and the Apprenticeship Levy

An event held at The Bournemouth & Poole College

Changes have taken place to Apprenticeships and the way they are funded. For businesses with wage bills over £3m, they now pay 0.5% of their payroll into an Apprenticeship Levy. But there is more to it than this as the way Apprenticeships are delivered is changing too.

Before the launch, The College hosted an event where over 60 people from a wide range of businesses attended to gain a better understanding about changes to Apprenticeships and the Apprenticeship Levy. Whether you attended or not, here's copies of the slides and answers to the many questions employers asked during the event.

If you want to find out more look around our Apprenticeships web pages. Or better still, contact our Business Enterprise team to find out what you can do to prepare for the changes and how your business can take advantage of them.

Presentation

Apprenticeships and the Apprenticeship Levy at The Bournemouth & Poole College

We've included a link to the presentation delivered by Theresa Moore, Director of Apprenticeships at The College and Matthew Butcher, Sales and Customer Account Manager. Click on the image to view it.

(The information included in slides 14-17 is sourced from City & Guilds)

Questions

My business operates across the UK. How will the Levy payments work?

Apprenticeships are a devolved policy, which means that authorities in each of the UK nations manage their own Apprenticeship programmes, including how funding is spent on Apprenticeship training.

The Government will use the home address data they already hold for your employees to calculate how much you will have to spend through the English system. The data will be used to work out what proportion of your wage bill is paid to employees living in England. The assessment will be made in early 2017 and the date will be announced in advanced.

Employees’ addresses can be updated as part of your Real Time Information Returns.

Useful links:

Employers operating in England and other parts of the UK

Can I direct my Levy funds to another employer to my supply chain?

Not at the moment, this is under review by the Government and may change in 2018.

For 2017 – the first year of your Levy payments, you will be able to use your Levy funds to pay for Apprenticeship training for your own employees.  

The Government understands that some employers will want to use their Levy funds to pay for Apprenticeship training of other employer’s apprentices. It is expected that from 2018 Levy-paying employers will be able to transfer up to 10% of the annual value of funds entering their digital accounts to other employers or Apprenticeship training agencies.

Useful links:

Directing Levy funds to another employer

Does The College have any plans to become an ATA?
We already have an ATA but it is not in current use at this stage. This will be kept under review.
 
How much is the cost of delivery/ pricing structure?

We will be meeting with businesses to discuss pricing and the cost of delivery after we have made our submissions to the register.

How will quality be maintained for end-point assessment?
There is guidance outlined in the rules for the creation of Apprenticeship Standards about how quality can be maintained. When the full remit of the Institute for Apprenticeships is published, they may also take on some of this role.
 
Useful links:
 
Will 20% of our Levy funds be held back until end-point assessment?

Yes.

The Government will pay your Apprenticeship training provider 80% of the agreed price up to the maximum value of the funding band, in equal monthly instalments. This will be taken from your digital account where funds are available.

The remaining balance will be paid up to the maximum value of the funding band when the apprentice has undertaken all the relevant learning activity, including:

  1. all mandatory elements of the Framework, or
  2. taken the end-point assessment for Standards
     
Useful links:

Apprenticeship funding rules May 2015 to March 2018

What is the charge for end-point assessment?

The price for end-point assessment will be agreed in any contract entered into with The College. It is anticipated that no end-point assessment should be more than 20% of costs.

Useful links:
 
What will be required to achieve a pass, merit or distinction?
The Standards Assessment Plan will outline the requirements.
Useful links:
 
Do I need a Digital Account if I don't qualify for the Digital Apprenticeship Service yet?
No, not at this stage.
 
Will non-Levy paying employers be invoiced directly from The College?
Yes, for their 10% Apprenticeship training contribution.
 
How will students progressing from Level 2 to 3 be affected?
They are considered as a new start and therefore if they start the Level 3 after 1st May 2017, their Apprenticeship training will be under the new rules.
 
Are construction already paying a levy?
Yes
 
If a Standard is not ready for my Apprenticeship training, will frameworks be funded?
Yes
 
For employers bringing out 'non-qualification' Standards, how will quality of training be achieved?

All Standards will have an end-point assessment which is quality assured as above.

The quality of training will be assessed at The Bournemouth & Poole College, through our Ofsted visits and endorsement of employers who continue to use us as their preferred Apprenticeship training provider.

Are registered charities exempt from paying the Levy?
No
 
If  a Standard includes a qualification will that remain?
Yes until it is reviewed. All Standards have a review date listed.
 
Christchurch and East Dorset have two separate payrolls and operate as a partnership. Will they be able to share Levy funds?

For companies who are connected for the purposes of paying the Levy, they will be able to pool their funds in one Digital Account. To do this they will need to register their PAYE to a single account. Levy funds can only be used to pay for Apprenticeship training for your own employees and therefore employers who are not connected will not be able to share their funds in a digital account.

Useful links:

Directing Levy funds to another employer


Question about Apprenticeships? Get in touch today on 01202 205500 or email apprenticeships@bpc.ac.uk

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