Over 30 employers gathered to hear all about changes to the way Government will be co-funding apprentices from spring 2017 and the legalities surrounding this, at the first of a pair of free seminars (pictured) jointly sponsored by the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).
A D2N2 ‘Levywise’ seminar was held this morning (April 3) at the Derbyshire County Cricket Ground, Nottingham Road, Derbyshire and gave information on what the Apprenticeship Levy will mean for businesses in the D2N2 area of Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Part sponsored by the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), this workshop, along with another one which will be held on April 12, are both co-ordinated on the D2N2 LEP’s behalf by Workpays Limited.
D2N2 is the LEP for Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire and works with skills and training providers, businesses, local authorities, and community and voluntary organisations to create a step-change in the skill levels of the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire workforce. D2N2 is a firm believer in apprenticeships as a driver of this upskilling and is sponsoring part of both Workpays seminars, to help give its area businesses the opportunities and benefits offered by the Apprenticeship Levy.
Coming into force on May 1, the Government’s new Apprenticeship Levy is being introduced to improve the quality and quantity of apprenticeships– delivering on the Government’s commitment of three million additional apprenticeship starts by 2020.
The Levy will look to make apprenticeship funding more sustainable, whilst improving the technical and professional skills of the workforce. It will apply to businesses who have a payroll of at least £3million and will allow them to use funding (dependent on the standard or framework that is being trained against) to cover the cost of an apprentice’s training, assessment and certification.
Employers with a payroll of less than £3million will not pay the Levy and the Government will provide financial support to take on apprenticeships, but these employers will be expected to make a small financial contribution to the cost of training and assessment in partnership with Government. Non Levy paying employers will agree a price and pay their co?investment to the training provider directly, with Government doing likewise.
Today’s seminar guided businesses through the new regulations and gave clear advice on what the levy will mean for businesses, and how to take full advantage of it. Topics which were covered included whether businesses should consider apprenticeships, a guide to what the Apprenticeship Levy will mean in practical terms, how apprenticeship funding is changing and what this means for businesses, and information about available training options.
Helen Richardson, Owner of Workpays, said: “Apprenticeships are a key driver in helping people into sustainable employment. The attendance at today’s event by such a wide variety of businesses shows that there is a clear appetite for apprenticeships across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. With the impending introduction of Government’s apprenticeship levy, it is important that D2N2 businesses are kept up to date with the latest developments, so they can continue to reap the maximum benefit by being levy wise.”
Places are still available for the second D2N2 Apprenticeship ‘Levywise’ seminar, which will be held on Wednesday, April 12, from 10:00am – 1:30pm at Uniper Technologies Limited, Ratcliffe-on-Soar, Nottinghamshire (NG11 0EG).
For more information and to book a place on the April 12 seminar, see web link www.d2n2lep.org/events
For more information on the seminars, contact Helen Richardson at Workpays on 07772 357890 or via email helen@workpays.co.uk.
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