From the beginning of April 2017, businesses with a salary bill of over £3m will be required to contribute funding towards the costs of UK apprentices via the Apprenticeship Levy. The aim is to increase the funding available which smaller businesses can apply for, even though they are not required to pay the Levy.
From May 2017, the government is introducing a scheme of co-investment for smaller employers who wish to apply for training for apprentices. Employers who don’t contribute to the Levy will be required to make a 10% contribution to the cost of the training whilst the government will pay the remaining 90% up to the maximum amount of government funding available for that apprenticeship. The government will also be offering additional support to organisations with fewer than 50 employees by paying 100% of training and assessment costs for their apprentices aged 16 to 18 and for those aged 19 to 24 formerly in care or with a local authority education, health and care plan