APPRENTICESHIP LEVY ANNOUNCEMENT

GOVERNMENT APPRENTICESHIP LEVY ANNOUNCEMENT TO HELP ADDRESS SKILL SHORTAGE

For those of you who may be unaware, the government’s Apprenticeship Levy will be introduced in April 2017, in an effort to hit a target of 3 million new apprentices by 2020. The levy will effect large employers across every sector that has a payroll in excess of three million pounds per year and will be applied irrespective of whether or not they currently offer apprenticeships.

It is predicted that the UK’s thirty largest Housing Associations will pay approximately seven and a half million pounds between them, and potentially, the Levy will effect hundreds of other Housing Associations as it may require them to adopt a different attitude to recruitment and skills development for existing staff and those who supply them. The levy

will also effect smaller Housing Associations who, under existing rules, employ apprentices that are currently fully funded; from April they will have to make a 10% contribution to the costs of their apprenticeship programmes, Housing Associations with less than 50 staff however will continue with 100% of the funding support for apprentices aged sixteen to eighteen.

Housing Associations need to contemplate how to get the best return for the money that they pay into the Levy. There are three new apprenticeships that are specifically designed for the sector and available now; Housing/Property Manager, Senior Housing/ Property Manager and Property Assistant.

Many Housing Associations have well-planned and financed training programmes and there is potential to chart existing training and also look at co-delivery models, which will provide an opportunity to claim some Levy funding in recognition of the training that’s currently delivered internally. While this may cause some disruption to existing training plans there are also benefits; for example, staff may have a chance to obtain a nationally recognised qualification and also the fact that it should give employers a better opportunity to retain their most valued employees. A well thought out apprenticeship programme should recognise and address any development gaps in jobs and people whilst improving the skills of existing staff and future employees.

Under the scheme the government will allow employers to spend more than their Levy. For example, the existing co-investment is a split 10% employer to 90% government contribution, which means employers should decide to use their existing Learning & Development budget to deliver training via an apprenticeship route, remember, any overspend will be 90% government funded. Therefore, a relatively small contribution of around £10k, will buy them one hundred thousand pounds of apprenticeship training.

The new apprenticeship standards have been created by employers and the restructuring will improve the quality and perception of apprenticeships and furthermore, will train staff with the vital skills that employers need. It will also provide young people with a credible alternative route to higher and professional qualifications, as an alternative to going to university.

On successful completion of the Apprenticeship Standard and passing an assessment at the end of the programme, all apprentices will be eligible to apply to join the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) at Member level. In addition, those at Level 4 will also qualify for the Professional Diploma route to Chartered Membership.

'The Apprenticeship Levy will be introduced in April 2017, in an effort to hit a target of 3 million new apprentices by 2020.'