In Friendship Ltd are an organisation that pride themselves in ‘delivering high quality, compassionate client-led home care services to older people living in Oxfordshire’. Based in Witney, the team is managed by husband-and-wife duo and directors, John and Taqwa Galpin.
Last Autumn – with the support of OxLEP Skills’ Apprenticeship Advisors – In Friendship Home Care and Support Services were awarded £14,000 from the University of Oxford to support the full apprenticeship training costs of two Level 5 Leaders in Adult Care.
OxLEP Skills’ Apprenticeship Levy Pledge Initiative sees apprenticeship levy-paying organisations (those with an annual pay bill of £3m+) with unused levy funds, able to transfer these to other organisations within the county for their own apprenticeship needs – rather than losing them back to the Treasury.
As part of OxLEP Skills’ Social Contract Programme – funded by the government’s Contain Outbreak Management Fund via Oxfordshire County Council and led by OxLEP Skills – a team of Oxfordshire Skills and Employability Advisors are in place to offer support and guidance to the county’s businesses looking for apprenticeship support.
This pre-funded (at no cost to the employer) support includes helping employers to unlock their apprenticeship levy and enabling smaller organisations to access unused levy to start or develop their apprenticeship schemes. It also includes support for employers and training providers along the apprenticeship journey, with a strong focus on the timely completion of the apprenticeship.
Skills and Employability Advisor Leah Bryan supported the team at In Friendship Ltd in finding a training provider, setting up their digital apprenticeship service account, matching to an apprenticeship levy transfer and connecting the digital accounts to the funding.
John Galpin, Managing Director at In Friendship Ltd, said: “Like many care providers, we knew we needed to boost our management team’s knowledge of the care sector, to keep our service running smoothly and by the book. We got in touch with OxLEP Skills to see what help was out there for small businesses wanting to take on apprenticeships.
“The brilliant team at OxLEP, especially Leah, went above and beyond to help us. She broke down exactly how small companies can make apprenticeships work and sorted out all the levy funding for us through their pledge initiative. It was honestly so simple – no complex paperwork or hoops to jump through.
“Leah didn’t just help with the money side of things – she pointed us towards some fantastic training providers too. The whole process was a doddle, with hardly any extra work for us.
“OxLEP Skills’ Skills and Employability Advisor, Andrea, has also been amazing at getting everything up and running, giving us loads of practical tips on fitting the training around our day-to-day work.
“Their support has made such a difference in helping us level up our team while keeping our care standards spot on.”
This National Apprenticeship Week, why not consider apprenticeships as a means to upskill your own team? Help keep up with industry standards whilst maintaining an established workforce, like the team at In Friendship Home Care and Support Services.