Apprenticeship information for employers

Find out more about the Apprenticeship Levy here.

Recruiting new staff - If you need an apprentice in the future you will need to sign up NOW to reserve apprenticeship funding. Full access to the Apprenticeship Service is now available for ALL employers, including levy-payers.

This service allows employers to:
• Reserve their apprenticeship funding
• Select their chosen provider from the Register of Apprenticeship Training

For the most up to date list of incentives and funding available to you, please click here.

Call 01922 657000 or submit your query here to find out more.

Through The Apprenticeship Service you will now be able to:

• Reserve your apprenticeship funding
• Select your chosen provider from the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers (RoATP) and apprenticeship standard required
• Advertise your apprenticeship vacancy
• Give feedback on the quality of training you receive from the chosen organisation
• Have greater control and visibility over the amount of funding paid to your training provider on your behalf.

You can find more information about The Apprenticeship Service on the government website https://www.gov.uk/guidance/manage-apprenticeship-funds

Find out how to access and open your account here.

Want to find out more about how to set up your Apprenticeship Service account, call 01922 657000 or submit your query here to find request a call-back.

Off the job training is vital to the delivery of any apprenticeships provision. It helps to reinforce the practical work-based skills completed on the job by the learner.

Off the job training has always been a part of the apprenticeship provision.  Reforms have led to more specific rules from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) around what constitutes off the job training, which must be a minimum of 20%.

Find out more about what counts towards off the job training here.

End-point assessment (EPA) is an assessment of the knowledge, skills and behaviours that your apprentice has learned throughout an apprenticeship, which confirms that they are occupationally competent.

Assessments have been designed by employers in the sector and are conducted by independent bodies known as end-point assessment organisations (EPAOs). You must select an EPAO as soon as possible at the beginning of the apprenticeship. The apprentice will only get their apprenticeship certificate after they have passed all the elements of their EPA, including any required standards in English and maths.

Finding an end-point assessment organisation
We can help you find an end-point assessment organisation or you can find one yourself for your apprentice.
You should agree a price with the EPAO for the assessment and then your training provider must contract with them on your behalf within 3 months of the apprenticeship starting. We expect that the cost of end-point assessment should not usually exceed 20% of the funding band maximum for the apprenticeship.

What does assessment involve?
Each apprenticeship includes an end-point assessment plan, which describes how the apprentice should be tested against appropriate criteria, using suitable methods. For example, your apprentice may need to complete.

• a practical assessment
• an interview
• a project
• written and/or multiple-choice tests
• a presentation

It is worth getting in touch with your EPAO early on in the apprenticeship to check what the assessment involves. This will give your apprentice plenty of time to prepare. For example, they may need to gather evidence to show how they’ve been working towards the core knowledge, skills and behaviours required. This short animation will help your apprentice understand what is expected from them and what will happen during their end-point assessment.

Certification
When your apprentice successfully completes their apprenticeship and passes their EPA, they’ll be awarded a certificate. The EPAO will request this certificate on your behalf. For some apprenticeships, passing the EPA and completing the apprenticeship will also lead to professional recognition by an authorised body. This is outlined in the apprenticeship details on find apprenticeship training.

Large employers that pay the apprenticeship levy can choose to transfer up to 50% of their levy funds each year to other businesses, to pay for their apprenticeship training and assessment.

Transferring levy funds is a way of supporting other businesses by deciding which sectors, skills or local areas you’d like to fund.

For example, you could support the engineering sector across England, or fund digital apprenticeships in your local area, or support any apprenticeships in a particular town or city.

Which businesses and apprenticeships you support with a transfer is your choice.

Your transfer allowance
Your transfer allowance is calculated as 50% of your previous financial year’s apprenticeship levy funds. The apprenticeship service calculates this amount as 50% of:

• the total amount of levy you declared in the previous tax year
• with the English percentage applied (the percentage of your employees that live in England)
• plus the top-up payment of 10% from the government

You cannot transfer more than your 50% allowance in each financial year.

Who can I transfer my apprenticeship levy to?
It is your choice which businesses you transfer levy funds to. Any business can receive a transfer of levy funds, including businesses that pay the apprenticeship levy and those that do not.

All businesses will need an apprenticeship service account to receive a transfer of levy funds. Businesses that pay the apprenticeship levy can choose to either send or receive a transfer of levy funds, but cannot send and receive a levy transfer at the same time.

To find out more about transferring your levy, please click here to read more about the Levy, or call 01922 657000 or submit your query here to speak to one of our advisors.

he Apprenticeship Service (previously known as the Digital Apprenticeship Service or DAS), originally gave Levy-paying employers the ability to digitally access and manage their apprenticeship training. It was designed to give employers more choice and control, with the ability to make more informed choices.

It is expected that all employers will use the Apprenticeship Service for their apprenticeship management. All employers can use the service to tailor apprenticeship training to meet their business needs, filling skills gaps and boosting productivity. With training provider agreement employers can set permissions to allow training providers to undertake some actions on their behalf. The service allows you to:

• Access and manage funding
• Receive transfers of apprenticeship funding
• Search for apprenticeships and training providers
• Choose an approved training provider
• Give feedback on apprenticeship training
• Apply for the employer incentives

Guidance for SMEs

There are a series of steps you would need to go through to start your apprentices via the Apprenticeship Service.

Account Set-Up

To set up your account, you will need your business details (e.g. email, address and Companies House number - if you have one), and your Government Gateway login for your organisation. If you don't have a Government Gateway login, you can use your accounts office reference number and your PAYE scheme reference number. You will create your account, add a PAYE scheme and accept the employer agreement. It is advised that more than one person at your organisation has access to the service account so that it can continue to be managed if a particular individual is on holiday or off sick.

Reserve Funding

To set up an apprenticeship and reserve funding, you will need to know which apprenticeship standard is going to be completed and the start month. You are able to amend these details prior to the apprentice starting. The funds are available from the start month you entered and during the following two months. The funds will expire in the third month if they have not been used. More information can be found on the government website:

• How to reserve funding
• Non-levy employer reservation levels

Use Funding

To stop the apprenticeship funding from expiring, you need to add the details of the individual apprentice, including their name and date of birth. You will confirm these details, as well as the training and assessment costs, which would have been agreed between you and your training provider. This will change the status of your reserved funding from active to used. Currently SMEs cannot have more than ten active/used funding requests at any one time.

Apply for Incentives

After you have funding requests which are marked as used, you can apply for incentive payments for these individuals. You'll need your registered address, Companies House number (if you have one), a remittance email address, bank details and your finance lead's contact details. You can read more about the employer incentives here.

The Redundancy Support Service for Apprentices (ReSSA), launched by the Department for Education, provides clear, accessible advice and guidance to apprentices following redundancy, while supporting their next steps. It will help redundant apprentices to identify new apprenticeship and employment opportunities, and, where they are eligible, complete their current apprenticeship. This service will enable individuals to access free online information and telephone support, helping to connect them with national and local support services, including financial, legal, health and wellbeing and careers advice. It will also share with apprentices details of new apprenticeship opportunities being offered by employers in their region. The Department for Education are asking employers to support redundant apprentices by sharing any apprenticeship vacancies they have. Apprentices that have been made redundant may already have the valuable skills and experience that the organisation needs. Vacancy details will be shared with redundant apprentices through the new vacancy sharing service. If you are aware of any apprentices who have been made redundant or might be made redundant in the future, please encourage them to visit Facing redundancy during your apprenticeship or call 0800 015 0400 to speak to an adviser. If you are aware of an employer who would like to recruit a redundant apprentice or offer new apprenticeship opportunities, please ask them to visit Hiring an apprentice who has been made redundant or call 0800 015 0600 to find out more.