The Right Track Consultancy
Making use of the levy as a powerful tool
For many businesses, the Apprenticeship Levy still feels like a tax rather than an opportunity. Paid automatically through PAYE if the business has a payroll of over £3m, it can easily sit in the background until funds begin to expire and quietly return to the Treasury. With the Government now confi rming that levy funds
Helen Russell Director The Right Track Consultancy
will expire after 12 months rather than 24, the pressure on employers to act has increased signifi cantly. Yet across Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes, there
is a growing shift in mindset. Forward-thinking employers are no longer asking ‘How do we avoid losing the levy?’ but instead ‘How do we use it to strengthen our workforce and our local economy?’ T e levy can be used not only for new apprenticeship
starts, but also to upskill existing employees from team leaders and supervisors through to senior management and technical specialists. For many organisations, this has unlocked structured training and development that simply wouldn’t have been funded otherwise. However, even with strong internal plans, many
levy-paying employers fi nd they cannot realistically use all their funds before expiry. T is is where levy transfers become a powerful tool.
Turning unused levy into local impact Levy-paying employers can transfer up to 50% of their annual levy to other organisations, fully funding apprenticeship training and assessment costs. These transfers can be targeted and purposeful. Employers can specify how they want their unused levy to be used, whether that’s: ■ Supporting businesses in Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes
■ Prioritising charities or community organisations ■ Focusing on young people, career changers, or specifi c age groups
■ Supporting particular sectors or apprenticeship standards
T is ensures levy funding delivers real, visible impact
rather than disappearing back into central government. At T e Right Track, we have supported employers to
use levy transfers strategically and locally. Most recently, we worked with Chris Wright of ACS Staffi ng Solutions, successfully transferring over £20,000 of unused levy funding to support businesses across Northamptonshire. T is funding is now being used to develop skills locally, strengthen small businesses, and create sustainable employment pathways. In another example, Michaela Coxon from Festo
secured an additional £10,000 in levy funding to support team leader training through the apprenticeship route ensuring vital leadership development was fully funded rather than postponed.
ALL THINGS BUSINESS | 14
Michaela said: “After attending an East Midlands Early
Careers Meet-Up hosted by Helen, I picked up something I genuinely didn’t know, that levy-paying companies can also access unused local levy funds. I had always assumed this was only available to non-levy employers. I followed the guidance shared at the session and was successful in securing £10,000 in transferred levy funding for Team Leader training. T is is now helping us upskill existing staff , which is a fantastic outcome. T e meet-up was well worth attending.” T ese examples demonstrate that levy funding is not just
for large employers. When used well, it becomes a shared resource that benefi ts the wider business community. With tighter expiry rules now in place, the
Apprenticeship Levy is no longer something businesses can aff ord to overlook. Used strategically, it has the power to strengthen organisations, develop future leaders, and keep investment fi rmly rooted in Northamptonshire and Milton Keynes. We’d love to hear from anyone who wants to fi nd more
about how we can support them to either transfer their levy out to other businesses, or secure levy funding for a new start, or carry out upskilling training.
T e Right Track Consultancy has teamed up with HR experts CE People to host a seminar for local business owners during National Apprenticeship Week. T e event, at the Mercure Hotel Northampton from 11.30am on Tuesday, February 10, will explore how apprenticeships can transform the workforce and help navigate the latest HR and employment law changes.
Scan the QR code to fi nd out more and book a place on the seminar. Contact T e Right Track Consultancy at
Helen@therighttrackconsultancy.com or visit
www.therighttrackconsultancy.com
RECRUITMENT & TRAINING
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