The Apprenticeship Levy was introduced by the Government in April 2017 to encourage a significant increase in the number and quality of apprenticeships. The Levy is effectively a tax of 0.5% on the pay bill of all employers with a pay bill of over £3m. The government then top up your payment by 10%. The funds you pay are accessed through a Digital Apprenticeship Service account (DAS) and you have the choice to spend your Levy with any provider on the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers. If you choose to spend more than is in your pot the government will cover 90% of the additional cost of any apprenticeship training, making this a very attractive option for developing your workforce.

As experts in Leadership and Management, Lighthouse will continue to focus on delivering high quality, meaningful training, whilst adding on the additional elements required as per the Apprenticeship rules.

There are guidelines for Employers – the main one being that you must be prepared to allow the apprentice sufficient time and opportunity to complete the work required. A minimum of 20% of the learning must be ‘off the job’ and this will need to be evidenced.

• Commit to completing the qualification (as far as is reasonable)
• Be prepared to compile a portfolio of evidence as to their competence in each area
• Complete guided and self-learning outside the classroom as required to demonstrate their competence. Much of this can be doing ‘the day job’ but will still need to be evidenced and linked to relevant criteria. We will provide support around this.
• Be available to meet regularly with an assessor to review their portfolio – as we will be using e-portfolios we may be able to complete much of this remotely.
• Complete an ‘End-Point Assessment’ – This includes a professional discussion, an online knowledge test, a competency based interview and a review of a portfolio of work. This must be carried out by an independent body, in our case the CMI or ILM.

The Funding Band Maximum is set according to the level of the Apprenticeship. For the Level 3 qualification it is £5,000 per apprentice, for the Level 5 Apprenticeship this rises to £9,000. The cost is spread over the entire length of the apprenticeship so you don’t need to have the full amount in your pot before you start. This covers all costs specifically relating to the apprenticeship training. These costs have been agreed to represent the cost of delivering against the standards. This said, the more apprentices you put on a programme, the more cost effective it will be for you.