Employers with a pay bill over £3 million each year must pay the apprenticeship levy. As a large levy paying employer, we are able to work in partnership with other local employers to help improve the skills and knowledge of the local workforce, by transferring a percentage of our apprenticeship levy funds.
Who is eligible to receive transferred funds
In order to be eligible to receive funds from us, receiving employers should be based in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and either be:
- in our supply chain
- providing services on our behalf
- businesses and other organisations that support our growth agenda (see sectors below)
- in the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector.
How will applications be prioritised
To gain maximum benefit from the levy funds, potential receiving employers will be scored by demonstrating that they are:
- Addressing skill shortages in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) area - priority sectors include engineering and manufacturing, creative digital, financial, tourism and health and social care
- Creating appropriate entry level "early career" apprenticeship opportunities (levels 2 and 3)
- Actively creating and promoting apprenticeship vacancies to disadvantaged groups (e.g. Care leavers, NEETs, those with disabilities, long term unemployed, etc)
- Acting on climate change in line with our commitment of becoming a carbon neutral organisation by 2030.
How to apply
Receiving employers or organisations must apply for transfer funds by completing the application form.
What will happen next
In the event of successful applications exceeding the available funds, a selection assessment exercise will be run to decide final recipients.
Employers will be notified of the outcome of their application within 4 weeks.
Further information
For information can be found on GOV.UK, including employing an apprentice, funding for apprenticeships, and the apprenticeship levy.
The Institute for Apprenticeships can help you search the range of apprenticeships available and find local organisations to provide training (If you're using a levy transfer, training providers will treat you as if you were a levy payer yourself, so when using the institute's 'Find apprenticeship training providers' service, select 'Yes' when asked if you're a levy payer).
For further information about levy transfers, please read the GOV.UK guidance.
For all other queries, please email us at learninganddevelopment@bcpcouncil.gov.uk.