Small Business Apprenticeships
If you have a small business and are looking for apprenticeship funding, Solvo Vir is here to offer small business advice. We understand that the policies, rules, regulations and procedures for claiming small business apprenticeship funding can be baffling and overwhelming, especially when you haven’t done it before.
Small businesses account for over 60% of employment in the UK, which means they play a valuable role in supporting young people taking their first career steps.
Do you have fewer than 50 employees? If so, you are eligible to take advantage of a number of incentives if you employ and train an apprentice who is:
- Aged 16-18 years old at the start of their apprenticeship
- Aged 19-24 and has an education, health and care plan provided by the local authority or has been in the care of a local authority (EHC).
The incentives for this include:
- 100% funding, the government will waive the 10% contribution
- £1000 payment to you, the employer.
These incentives have been put in place to encourage you to continue investing in young people. In order to meet eligibility criteria, a business/organisation must have employed an average of 49 or fewer employees in the 365 days before the apprentice is recruited. The recruitment of one or more apprentices must not take this average number over 50.
With our own proven track record in training apprentices from small and medium sized businesses, Solvo Vir can guide you through all the small business opportunities for apprenticeships specifically. Our team can help you to negotiate complex funding regulations, and make sure you receive all the financial support to which you are entitled.
The Apprenticeship Levy and small businesses
As a SME, there is a high likelihood that your business will not qualify for the Apprenticeship Levy. The Apprenticeship Levy only applies to organisations with an annual pay bill surpassing £3m. They must now pay the Apprenticeship Levy via their Digital Apprenticeship Service (DAS) account. If you don’t fall into this category, you are instead entitled to substantial government funding for small business apprenticeships via the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).
At the moment, only 2% of businesses are currently affected and have to pay the Apprenticeship Levy, as the majority fall under the threshold. While it is likely that in future you will need to set up a Apprenticeship Service Account, this is currently optional.
Government funding for apprenticeships
So, now you know you are entitled, we can break down the government funding for small business apprenticeships for you.
Previously, all employers – regardless of size – were required to pay a third of apprenticeship training costs, with the ESFA providing assistance to cover the remaining amount. From May 2017, as a non-levy payer, the government will fund 90% of your apprenticeship training costs. This means that, as a business, you only need to cover the remaining 10%, up to a funding band maximum amount. This is called ‘Co-investment’. This major small business opportunity provides you with the means to introduce apprenticeships into your company.
Once you have agreed a price with a training provider, you will pay your share of the costs of the training and assessment directly to them.
Choosing a training provider
You will then need to choose an apprenticeship training provider from the ESFA Register of Apprenticeship Providers (RoATP).
At Solvo Vir, we are approved to deliver apprenticeship training to employers and are listed on the register as a ‘Main Provider’. Our experience and expert trainers can provide your business with an in-depth, adaptable learning environment for a thorough training programme.
We can help
Solvo Vir currently works with many small employers, supporting them to grow the skills within their workforce and recruit future talent. We offer small business apprenticeships in various specialist industry qualifications:
Training and apprenticeships
To talk to our team about your training needs,
call 0330 0539140
