Apprenticeship Support

Through our Social Contract Programme, we provide expert, impartial advice to help employers unlock and access the apprenticeship levy.  We currently have over £1.3M in apprenticeship levy funds available for Oxfordshire.

The apprenticeship levy applies to organisations with an annual PAYE bill of more than £3 million. The apprenticeship levy can be used to upskill your existing staff and recruit and train your future workforce. Employers that do not utilise all their levy are able to
pledge 25% of their annual fund to support smaller businesses, social enterprises and charities with apprenticeship training and assessment costs.

Our Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Advisers Leah Bryan and Nikki Cooper provide expert, impartial advice to help employers with apprenticeships. There is no charge for this support as it is funded through our Social Contract Programme through the government’s Contain Outbreak Management Fund, via Oxfordshire County Council.

Contact Leah and Nikki at skills@oxfordshirelep.com or phone 0345 2411 196, option 1.

To complement the apprenticeship support service, Andrea Harrison, our Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Advisor for Completions, works with employers and training providers across the region to support with the apprenticeship journey, with a strong focus on the timely completion of the apprenticeship.

Andrea offers tailored 1-2-1 meetings to give expert, impartial advice and support to employers and training providers and will be running a series of specialised webinars from January 2024. There is no charge for this support as it is funded through our Social Contract Programme through the government’s Contain Outbreak Management Fund, via Oxfordshire County Council.

Contact Andrea at skills@oxfordshirelep.com or phone 0345 2411 196, option 1.

How we support apprenticeship levy-paying employers

If you’re an apprenticeship levy-paying employer, join other Oxfordshire businesses supporting a county-wide apprenticeship pledge fund. Our Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Advisers will work with you to make it as easy as possible. We support with:

• Guidance with understanding your 25% transfer allowance
• Support to pledge and upload onto the national apprenticeship levy pledging page
• Support to make a direct transfer pledge
• Support to set criteria for where your money is spent i.e. Oxfordshire
  Support to review and agree applications
• Any apprenticeship guidance that you require for your own organisation
• Promotion of pledge to use towards your corporate social responsibility goals

How we support employers that do not pay the apprenticeship levy

Employers that do not pay the Apprenticeship Levy can benefit from 100% of apprenticeship training costs covered for employees aged over 18 and no 5% co-investment fee.

Our Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Advisers provide 1:1 support with every aspect of tapping into the Apprenticeship Levy pot:

• Help to identify opportunities for an apprentice​
• Guidance to find the correct apprenticeship standard​
• Signposting to training providers​
• Funding and Levy transfer advice and guidance​
• Creation of Digital Apprenticeship Service account​
• Recruitment advice and support​
• Ongoing support through the apprentice’s journey​

 Employers who have pledged apprenticeship levy

Could your organisation join these employers who have already pledged their apprenticeship levy to support apprenticeship training and assessment in Oxfordshire?