‘Any businesses that are thinking about pledging apprenticeship levy, speak to OxLEP Skills and you’ll be surprised how easy it is! With their support and a 15 minute Teams call, the pledge was live on the system!’
Award-winning 5-star housebuilder The Hill Group are one of a growing number of employers to pledge some of their apprenticeship levy to fund training and assessment for smaller businesses in Oxfordshire through OxLEP Skills’ Social Contract Programme.
Siân Rebourg, Head of Social Value at Hill, was surprised how straightforward making a pledge was. She said: “As platinum members of the 5% club, Hill is committed to supporting new entrants into the industry and recognises the importance of apprenticeships and earn as you learn programmes. We want to support our supply chain and other SME companies in recruiting talent into their businesses through pledging our unspent levy but weren’t sure how to do this.”
“With the support of OxLEP Skills’ Apprenticeship Advisor Nikki Cooper and a 15 minute Teams call, the pledge was live on the system – it was really straightforward and Nikki explained every step. It’s great that we can pledge our levy for the skills needed to keep moving our industry forward. And to see those in the communities that we work in gaining the right skills to have successful careers within our field. Any businesses that are thinking about pledging, speak to OxLEP Skills and you’ll be surprised how easy it is!”
With support from Nikki, Hill has pledged £70,277 and specified that the funds are to be used to support apprenticeships in construction. This has already paid for training for three Level 2 Carpentry Apprentices.
Hill is one of three construction partners working on-site delivering Oxford North, a new innovation district for the city, which will deliver one million sq ft of labs and workspaces, 480 new homes, hotel, nursery, amenities, three new public parks and significant investment in travelling around sustainably.
Victoria Collett, Development Director, Thomas White Oxford, the development company of St John’s College, said: “We are delighted that Hill’s apprenticeship levy has been shared in Oxfordshire to support the local supply chain – and such a significant amount too.”
“Our project is a significant and intended stimulant for the local economy and employment market. We are working with Oxford City Council and OxLEP to create aspiration and opportunity for local people in various ways, one of which is unlocking levy funding to support apprentices learning locally. Thank you Hill and OxLEP and to Storey Consulting, our social value consultant who helped to make this happen.”
To date, the Social Contract Programme has generated over £2.3M in apprenticeship levy funds for Oxfordshire, with more than £230,000 supporting construction apprenticeships. Levy transfers have so far supported 28 construction apprenticeships with local SMEs, including:
- Level 7 Chartered Town Planner
- Level 6 Building Service Design Engineer
- Level 4 Construction Site Supervisor
- Level 3 Advanced Carpentry and Joinery
- Level 3 Craft Carpentry and Joinery
- Level 3 Plumbing and domestic Heating Technician
- Level 2 Bricklayer
- Level 2 Carpentry and Joinery
For support to make a pledge, or to access pledged funds, contact skills@oxfordshirelep.com.
Find out more about the apprenticeship support available to employers from OxLEP Skills: