Employers with a pay bill over £3 million each year must pay the apprenticeship levy. As a large levy paying employer, we can transfer a percentage of our apprenticeship levy to local employers, to help improve the skills and experience of our local workers.

The government has more advice for employers who want to receive an apprenticeship funds transfer. 

Who can get transferred apprenticeship levy funds

Employers should be based in Bournemouth, Christchurch or Poole and either be:

• in our supply chain
• providing services on our behalf
• addressing skill shortages in our area (see sectors below)
• in the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector

How applications are prioritised

To get the most from our available levy funds, employers will be scored by whether they will:

• address skill shortages in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) area, in engineering and manufacturing, creative digital, financial, tourism and health and social care
• create appropriate entry level "early career" apprenticeship opportunities (levels 2 and 3)
• create and promoting apprenticeship vacancies to disadvantaged groups (e.g. Care leavers, NEETs, those with disabilities, long term unemployed, etc)
• act 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

If we get more successful applicants than we can support with the available funding, we will assess all applicants against our criteria to decide on the final recipients. 

We will let you know the outcome within 4 weeks of your application.

Find out about offering apprenticeships

The Institute for Apprenticeships can help you search the range of apprenticeships available and find local organisations to provide training.

If you are successful and get funding through our levy transfer, training providers will treat you as if you were a levy payer yourself.  When searching for a training provider on the Institute's website, you can select Yes when asked if you're a levy payer.

The government has lots of advice about offering apprenticeships. 

If you want to talk to us about apprenticeships and funding, please email learninganddevelopment@bcpcouncil.gov.uk.