How apprentices are funded
The Apprenticeship Levy means employers with a payroll of over £3 million are required to contribute to the Apprenticeship Levy to fund their apprenticeships.
If your business fits this category you are known as a Levy Payer. Levy Payers, are required to set up an account on the Apprenticeship Service, this account enables you to monitor your Levy contributions and also your payments to training providers for any apprenticeship training you are receiving.
Businesses not paying the Levy are known as Non-Levy Payers. Non-Levy Payers are eligible to receive a 95% contribution towards the cost of the apprenticeship and are also required to set up a Apprenticeship Service account.
The recruitment of all new apprentices will be required to go through the online Apprenticeship Service system in order to access the funding for them, regardless of whether you are a Levy Payer or Non Levy Payer. The step by step guide below takes you through what you need to do to reserve the funding for your apprenticeship training. You can do this in advance of any learners signing up.
In the past, apprenticeship funding came directly from the government education body ESFA to Achieve Training/other colleges, but now employers need to reserve the funding themselves and request it to be passed on to their training provider using the Apprentice Service.
Our step-by-step guide below talks you through the key things you need to do when using the Apprenticeship Service. Don't worry, we will send you a link for you to register for your account when using Achieve Training as your apprenticeship training provider.
Through your account you will be able to manage a range of services. This includes managing apprenticeship funding, advertising vacancies on Find an Apprenticeship, finding training providers that deliver your chosen apprenticeship programme and reserving funding for the provider to deliver the chosen apprenticeship.
You will first need to create an account, then add a PAYE scheme on behalf of your organisation and lastly accept the employer agreement with the ESFA (Education and Skills Funding Agency).
The video tutorial below guides you through what the Apprenticeship Service is.
Before you begin to set up your account you will need to have a couple of pieces of information to hand.
An email address you have access to
The Government Gateway login for your organisation (or you can use the accounts office reference number and employer PAYE scheme reference number if your annual pay bill is less than £3 million)
Authority to add PAYE schemes to the account
Authority to accept the employer agreement on behalf of your organisation
If you are a sole trader and require further guidance, then please do get in touch
For a video on the information you will need you can watch the video below
We would encourage you to give us training provider permissions, this way we can then add apprentice details/create cohort groups on your behalf making things simpler and quicker for you. All you will need to do is approve them.
You will need our UKPRN number 1000 5250 – Achieve Training (Staffordshire) Ltd.
Registered office: Achieve Training (Staffordshire) Limited, Kingsley, The Brampton, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, ST5 0QW. Registered in England and Wales No. 01620399 VAT No. 927 405227
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