Two-thirds of employers not using levy funds to train staff

The Apprenticeship Levy was introduced on 6 April 2017 and requires employers with a payroll of over £3 million to pay 0.5% of their payroll costs to HMRC to fund the Apprenticeship Levy.

The scheme means that anyone of any age can get virtually any qualification paid for from the Levy.  

Despite this, a new survey has found that 6  out of 10 eligible businesses do not fully understand how it works and are presumably not using it to train new and existing staff.  

The survey by Evolve Learning Group and West London College also found that in London, only 1 in 6 employers utilised their apprenticeship levy funds.

Businesses who don't use their levy funds are effectively paying additional tax without any benefits.  

We have a guide which explains how  to access the funds and the types of courses they can be used to up skill your workforce: https://www.irwinmitchell.com/about-us/newsletters/employment-update/apr17-apprenticeship-levy

Fewer than four in 10 eligible businesses in a new survey say they fully understand the apprenticeship levy ”