National Apprenticeship Week 2023

Southwark Apprenticeship Levy Transfer Scheme

As an apprenticeship levy-paying employer, we can now transfer up to 25% of our apprenticeship levy funds to employers in Southwark who want to recruit apprentices or train their staff using apprenticeship qualifications. This helps businesses to invest in high-quality training and get the skilled workforce they need to thrive and succeed.

Apprenticeship training ranges from GCSE to Masters level and ranges in value from £1,500 to £27,000. A variety of learning options are also available including online, classroom-based, and one-to-one tuition. Find out more about different apprenticeship training courses.

Benefits of the scheme

Southwark businesses can benefit from these funds by:

• upskilling your existing employees - existing employees can complete an apprenticeship training course and learn new skills and gain a professional qualification alongside, and complementary to, their career
  • offering employees training is known to improve staff retention and drive loyalty
  • you can also ensure your workforce continuously develops the skills you need to keep ahead
• recruiting an apprentice - apprentices can work on tasks and projects that can have a direct impact on your business
  • apprenticeships are open to anyone of working age, with no upper age limit
  • funds can be used to pay for the training course an apprentice completes, enabling you to grow your own talent

Who can receive transferred funds?

We can transfer funds to employers for new apprenticeship opportunities, particularly where the funds will create an apprenticeship that would not have been created without the funds. This can include new apprentices or existing employees undertaking an apprenticeship-training course.

Employers must meet the following criteria:

• your business or organisation must be based within the London Borough of Southwark and the levy funds should be used to train a Southwark resident
• you will need to pay for the salaries of apprentices. The transfer of funds can only be used for the apprenticeship training course costs
• as a Living Wage employer, we will only consider requests for funds from employers who will pay their staff at least the London Living Wage
• for monitoring purposes, employers must also need to commit to notifying us about the outcome of the apprenticeship

How to apply

We are working with the London Progression Collaboration to manage our levy transfer approach. They will be able to support and guide you through the process of securing a levy transfer.

If you're an employer that would like to benefit from the funding available, complete the LPC expression of interest form or email jack.shaw@ippr.org for an initial conversation.

To receive the maximum benefit from the levy funds, employers should demonstrate on their form how the funding will contribute to Southwark’s strategic priorities of:

• addressing skills shortages, with priority sectors including health and social care, hospitality, green economy and digital and technology, although applications from all sectors will be considered
• creating apprenticeship opportunities for disadvantaged groups (such as care leavers, NEETs, those with disabilities, long-term unemployed, and residents from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds)

If you have any questions, email localeconomy@southwark.gov.uk.

Page last updated: 18 April 2024