Member Article

Why you should be utilising the Apprenticeship Levy

From school leavers to company executives, a nationwide pool of existing and new talent can be funded via the Levy, enabling workers of all ages to benefit from training programmes and advance their careers.

Kate Temple-Brown, an associate working with Gradvert, said: “We all need to work together to encourage employers across the UK to maximise the Apprenticeship opportunity to create business leaders of the future.”

Research by the Chartered Management Institute, conducted among more than 1,600 managers throughout the UK, has shown that leaders of businesses are backing apprenticeships for people across the whole age spectrum as a way to address long-term employer under investment in skills.

88% believe the Apprenticeship Levy should be spent on apprenticeships for everyone, not necessarily just new hires or young people. As a nation, we have a massive talent pool of people ready to take on challenging new roles to not only further their own careers but also make the businesses they work for more successful.

Apprenticeships are not just for school leavers as the research shows there is already a vast number of existing employees with years of skill and experience under their belts who are using apprenticeships to help them climb their career ladder. This is what the Levy is for - to upskill and create more opportunities for everyone.

The Chartered Management Institute (CMI) survey reveals that 63% of managers questioned agreed that the Apprenticeship Levy was needed to increase employer investment in skills.

A huge number of business leaders, 85%, believed new management apprentices would expand their talent pool, while 84% said they would create a learning culture within their organisation. A total of 73% said they would increase productivity and 72% said they would help staff retention.

Managers and apprentices now using the Levy have become advocates of the system and are beginning to reap business benefits. However, too many businesses are still missing out and awareness needs to be raised of how apprentices can work for all.

Kate said, “The Apprenticeship Levt should be seen as a skills investment and the funds used to invest in programmes for school leavers and existing employees. Businesses may not even be aware that they can use the Levy to train managers and leaders at every level.

“We now need more collaboration to ensure this support from managers for apprenticeships translates into a new way of training and upskilling their workforce.

“The broad scope of these new apprenticeships means we will see school leavers all the way to executives embark on apprenticeships that will advance their careers and benefit their employers.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Hannah Lennox .