The ESFA have released this week’s business updates, you can read and sign up to the updates here.
1. National Apprenticeship Week 2018
Action
National Apprenticeship Week 2018 formally launches today, Monday 5 March, with hundreds of employers and thousands of apprentices celebrating the impact apprenticeships have on individuals, employers, the community and economy.
The theme for the #NAW2018 is ‘Apprenticeships Work’. It’s not too late to get involved: search our online map to find more information about National Apprenticeship Week events happening near you; support our 10k Talks movement by attending a talk or support @Apprenticeships on social media by sharing why apprenticeships work using the hashtags #WorksForMe and #NAW2018.
You can find more information on today’s events, and events taking place throughout the week on GOV.UK.
2. Apprenticeship service update
Transferring apprenticeship levy funds
From April 2018 employers who pay the apprenticeship levy will be able to transfer apprenticeship funds to other organisations to pay for their apprenticeship training and assessment. They will be able to transfer up to a maximum of 10% of their annual funds, which will be calculated from the total amount of levy declared during the previous tax year.
Transfers are being brought in as a flexibility in the system in response to employer demand and should lead to the creation of more apprenticeship starts, allowing larger employers to spend some of their funding to help upskill the workforce of another employer, perhaps in their supply chain.
Levy-paying employers will be able to transfer funds to any employer and will have to agree the apprenticeships that are being funded by a transfer with the employer receiving the funds. Employers receiving transferred funds will only be able to use them to pay for training and assessment for apprenticeship standards and the transfer must cover the cost in full.
For more information go to the transferring apprenticeship service funds page on GOV.UK, read this blog on 5 tips for employers to get ready for transfers and take a look at this short video.
If you have any queries please call the National Contact Centre helpline on 08000 150 600 or email helpdesk@manage-apprenticeships.service.gov.uk.
Helping employers post apprenticeship vacancies
To help businesses reach the widest pool of candidates recruit an apprentice is a free portal to advertise apprenticeships opportunities. This connects employers with potential apprentices seeking vacancies through find an apprenticeship. This is the primary platform that young people and adults are signposted to in order to find apprenticeships. In 2017, over 167,000 vacancies were advertised on find an apprenticeship and over half a million candidates registered on the system.
Once an employer has a training provider in place, they work with the training provider who will then add their apprenticeship vacancies to recruit an apprentice. Where a large employer is still in the process of finding a training provider for their apprenticeship programme, the National Apprenticeship Service can now post vacancies on their behalf.
For further information please email apprenticeship.vacancies@education.gov.uk or call 0800 015 0600 and a large employer advisor will be able to talk you through the process. Please note that if the employer already has a training provider in place they should continue to work with them to post vacancies.
3. NUS Apprentice Extra
Inform
Apprentices are able to make many of the same savings as full time students through a discount card from the National Union of Students (NUS). The NUS Extra card gives saving on over 140 brands for £11 per year.
Marketing materials are available to employers from the Apprentice Extra team to make their apprentices aware of this offer, and employers can now also bulk-buy cards at a discounted rate to provide as a free benefit to their apprentices.
For more information contact: ApprenticeCard@nus.org.uk.
4. Apprenticeship funding band structure
Action
We have listened to feedback regarding the current funding band structure and are reviewing the effectiveness of the current funding band structure. We are therefore considering changes to incentivise negotiation and drive better value for money.
This includes considering alternative funding band structures. Any new structure would apply to new starts from August 2018. The maximum funding band will remain at £27,000. We will confirm any changes in Spring 2018.
If we do change the funding band structure, we will work with the IfA to ensure that any new standards that are approved for delivery are allocated to both one of the 15 current funding bands and to a new, post-August funding band.
You can further information on GOV.UK. We welcome any views, please email Dfe.fundingbands@education.gov.uk.
As part of their agreed responsibilities, we have also asked the IfA to review an initial batch of existing published standards, and to identify where they should sit in a new funding band structure. All other existing standards will be reviewed as part of the IfA’s standard review process.
5. Apprentice Minimum Wage increase from April 2018
Reminder
The national minimum wage for apprentices will rise next month, from £3.50 to £3.70 an hour. This is a 5.7% increase, above UK inflation. This rate applies to apprentices under 19 and those aged 19 or over who are in their first year. Apprentices must be paid at least the national minimum wage rate if they’re an apprentice aged 19 or over and have completed their first year.
