Apprenticeship funding differs depending on the size of the employer:
Levy payers: large employers
Large employers are classed as businesses with a wage bill of £3m or more. They already pay the Apprenticeship Levy. This is 0.5% of total wage bill minus a £15K allowance. The Levy is paid alongside the company’s PAYE bill, placed into an online Apprenticeships account and topped up with a 10% Government contribution.
Employers use the funds they have already paid into this account to cover the costs of apprenticeship training and assessment.
If you’re a large employer and you haven’t yet starting spending funds in your Apprenticeship account, FIT UK can help you with this. Don’t forget, unused funds in employers’ Apprenticeship accounts expire after 18 months. Notably, if you have used up all of your levy you can still enrol candidates onto the programme. Providing you have spent your levy funds, the government will fund 90% of the programme for additional apprentices.
Non-levy payers
Employers with a wage bill of less than £3m do not have to pay the Apprenticeship Levy.
16-18 year old apprentices training costs are met by the government. Apprentices over the age of 19 their employer is eligible for 95% of their apprentices’ training costs; they pay 5%. FIT UK obtains the 95% funding directly from the Government, we then invoice the employer for remaining 5%.
There is no apprenticeship funding to cover wages but employers are exempt from paying national insurance for apprentices under 25.
Additional apprenticeship funding
From the 1st April 2021 the government have introduced additional incentive payments to help reboot businesses back out of lockdown and encourage employers to recruit an apprentice.
Employers who recruit a 16-18 year old apprentice they will receive £4000 incentive payments between 1st April and 30th September 2021.
Employers who recruit a 19+ apprentice they will receive £3000 incentive payments between 1st April to 30th September 2021.
Digital Apprenticeship Service (DAS)
All employers large and small who want to employ apprentices will need to create or sign in to an apprenticeship account. Your account will enable you to get funding to pay for apprenticeship training and assessment costs.
You’ll use your account to:
- Get apprenticeship funding
- Find and save apprenticeships
- Find, save and manage training providers
- Recruit apprentices
- Manage apprenticeships
FIT UK recruitment team will support you to set up your account, reserve apprenticeship places and claim your incentive payments.
Call 07785 425 844 to speak with Director of Business Development email [email protected]
