From April 2017, the Government changed the way it funds Apprenticeships in England. HMRC collect 0.5% of a company’s annual PAYE wage bill in April each year - if the wage bill is over £3m. This is the new Apprenticeship Levy.

The levy collected goes into an online account which is topped up with an additional 10% from the Skills Funding Agency. The funds can be drawn by the levy paying businesses from May 2017 onwards and used to upskill employees through vocational Apprenticeships.

• HMRC collects 0.5% of your annual PAYE wage bill
• This goes into an online account and is topped with funding from the SFA at 10%
• Your employees decide on the most suitable Apprenticeship qualification which is funded through the credits accrued in the company's online account (companies have 24 months from the date these are collected by HMRC to use them)
• Our Skills team at Serco can be your training provider to deliver, support and assess the Apprenticeship qualification for your employees
• Employee continues in current employment whilst studying for the Apprenticeship qualification

If you are a business with an annual PAYE wage bill of over £3m and would like to know how you can make the most of your levy contributions, you can contact us here and one of our Advisors will contact you to discuss your requirements.

The levy pot with its additional funding from the SFA sits in an online account for up to 24 months only. In other words, if you don’t use it within 24 months from May 2017, you lose it. So it is important that levy paying businesses use their pot.

This means that your business will accrue a pot of funding each year that can be used to provide your employees with training and development provided through the Apprentice Programme – at no additional cost. All you need is a training provider that can deliver the chosen level of training and qualifications for your employees. And that’s where Serco can help.

Serco's Skills team can help you get the best value from your funding pot. Choose us as your training provider to deliver, support and assess your employees' Apprenticeships and choose from a selection of accredited qualifications across a wide range of industries.

• Serco is a registered Ofsted Grade 2 national training provider of Apprenticeships
• Serco provides a full service – we deliver, support and assess the Apprenticeship qualifications