MILLIONS of pounds could be lost from the region unless employers transfer any unspent levy funds to support apprenticeships in other businesses.

The apprenticeship levy is paid by businesses with an annual wage bill of  £3 million or more, and is used to pay for apprenticeship training and assessment.

Any payments not used within 24 months are returned to central government - but levy-paying employers can transfer up to 25 per cent of their contributions to support apprenticeships in smaller businesses.

The Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) which covers York has piloted a service between levy-paying employers and training providers for the purposes of levy transfer - with Portakabin agreeing to fund 12 apprentices through their training programmes.

Roger Marsh, Chair of the LEP and NP11, said: “Our  levy-paying businesses  have a key role in supporting apprenticeships across Leeds City Region and giving skilled people the opportunity to get on in life.

“Using your unspent levy funds to support local people and businesses can also have long-term benefits for your own business, as they can increase the skills within a sector and the local talent-base and make companies within supply chains more efficient.” 

The LEP  has piloted  a brokerage service between levy-paying employers and training providers for the purposes of levy transfer and has already seen successes, with Portakabin agreeing to fund 12 apprentices through their training programmes.

Nick Vernon, head of learning and development at Portakabin, said: “In late summer, we became aware of the fact that some training providers across the region were facing funding challenges and there was a risk that they might have to turn businesses away. As an employer with unspent apprenticeship levy, we were able to take positive steps with an apprenticeship levy transfer and are now supporting 12 apprentices through their training programmes.

“It’s not just for a single academic year – we’ve made a long-term commitment to fund the full duration of the apprenticeships. We’re delighted to be able to support the development of apprentices at Portakabin and also within the city region.”

The call for support comes as training providers across Leeds City Region have contacted the LEP reporting that they are turning away potential apprentices from employers that are under the threshold for paying the apprenticeship levy, due to a lack of non-levy funding for apprenticeships.

The LEP has conducted a poll of providers across the City Region, with the majority of respondents confirming that they are also in this situation. The LEP estimates that as many as 300 apprentices across the City Region may be unable to start their courses as a result of funding shortfalls.  

For more information, visit the-lep.com/apprenticeship-levy-transfer/