4 January 2017

BPIF answer members’ questions on Apprenticeship Levy

With the new Apprenticeship Levy coming into effect in April, the BPIF has been striving to make its members aware of the upcoming changes and how they may affect their businesses. A Twitter Q&A session was held on 14 December 2016 to allow members, and the wider industry, to ask any questions they had regarding the changes. 

Some of the top questions and answers are listed below:

Q: What kind of things will the #ApprenticeshipLevy allow businesses to do with funding?
A: The money can ONLY be spent on apprenticeships. 

Q: Can businesses choose their own apprenticeship training providers?
A: Yes they can! As long as the training provider is on the government's RoATP (Register of Approved Training Providers).

Q: If a company is not a levy payer will they have to pay a contribution for training?
A: Yes they will. Non-levy paying companies will pay 10% of the training fee and government will pay the remaining 90%.

Q: Does the levy only apply to companies in England?
A: No - the #ApprenticeshipLevy applies to all businesses in the UK. However, the new funding rules only apply in England. 

Q: Currently 16-18 year old learners are fully funded by the government, will this remain under the Levy?
A: Only non-levy paying firms with <50 employees will receive full funding. There is a £1000 incentive payment for all employing 16-18yr olds.

Q: When can Levy payers start taking on new apprentices?
A: Apprentices can be signed up under the new funding rules from 1 May 2017. http://ow.ly/Dhim30777vS

As well as answering questions, the BPIF also shared lots of bitesize facts throughout the day which can be found at www.twitter.com/BPIF 

For more information about the Apprenticeship Levy and apprenticeship reform, take a look at some of our recent articles:

Are you aware of how the apprenticeship levy will affect your business?

Changes to funding for apprenticeships

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