The ‘Grow Your Own’ Apprenticeship Levy Pledge initiative is a key part of the government-funded Social Contract Programme – however Oxfordshire funds will be returned to the Treasury if they remain unused.
OxLEP Skills is urging Oxfordshire businesses to get in touch if they’re interested in taking on an apprentice – or upskilling current staff through apprenticeships – to find out if they could be eligible to funds, with less than six months until the programme is currently set to draw to a close.
Employers with an annual pay bill of over £3m pay 0.5% of this as an apprenticeship levy and are able to pledge up to 50% of their levy annually. Through the ‘Grow Your Own’ Apprenticeship Levy Pledge Initiative, businesses are supported in pledging their unused levy funds and transferring them to eligible Oxfordshire based small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), charities and social enterprises to help fund their apprenticeship training and assessment.
Since the programme began back in May 2022, over £2.3m has been successfully allocated through the fund, with £1.3m remaining to eligible businesses to fulfill their own apprenticeship aspirations. Any funds that remain unused after the programme end will be lost to Oxfordshire and over a period of time returned to the Treasury – so OxLEP Skills are urging willing recipients to get in touch today.
Since May 2022, over £3.6m has been pledged through the initiative – far exceeding an original £1.3 million target of pledges set for the Social Contract programme – with 251 apprenticeships created in Oxfordshire since the programme began.
The Social Contract programme is a £1.7 million programme of activity funded by the government’s Contain Outbreak Management Fund, via Oxfordshire County Council and led by OxLEP Skills – to address the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic relating to unemployment, barriers to employment, education, and training.
Sally Andreou, Skills Hub Manager at OxLEP – said: “Our ‘Grow Your Own’ Apprenticeship Levy Pledge Initiative has been hugely successful since it began, and we have been overwhelmed by the generosity of larger businesses in ensuring apprenticeship levy funds are retained within the county – and supporting the county’s SMEs to fulfill their own apprenticeship ambitions.
“We really want to get across the urgency of organisations in the county getting in touch – even if they’re unsure as to whether they’re eligible to the levy funds – with our Apprenticeship Advisor team, to find out what support could be available to them, as the pledged levy won’t be here forever and it’s vital as much skills support as possible remains here in the county.
“Understandably, not all of our SMEs in Oxfordshire feel they are in a place to take on a new employee at this time – however another thing we want to stress is the impact apprenticeships can have in upskilling current employees and unlocking new opportunities and expertise with existing staff members also.
“Whatever your business’ skills and training ambitions, the time is certainly now though to ensure those funds get utilised – it really is a case of ‘use it or lose it’.”
Find out if your business could be eligible to take up the levy funding, pledge your own levy, or find out more about the other initiatives within the Social Contract by getting in touch with OxLEP Skills’ Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Advisors today: skills@oxfordshirelep.com.