How is the apprenticeship levy being adopted by the public sector?
The apprenticeship levy has the potential to provide the public sector with a great opportunity to upskill its workforce. But reaping the full benefits is a complex feat that organisations need better support with. Following its introduction in April 2017, the apprenticeship levy has been accumulating funds for investment in apprenticeships within UK businesses that […]
7 Traits You Need in Your Next Marketing Superstar
Whether you run a business that needs marketing help, or you own a marketing firm and just need some fresh talent, finding good marketers is hard. Sure, everyone says they are good at marketing. They are marketers, after all. But that doesn’t mean everyone has what it takes to elevate businesses through savvy campaigns and […]
Is the Apprenticeship Levy killing apprenticeships?
The Apprenticeship Levy marked its first birthday in May this year. However there seems little to celebrate in what has become regarded by many as simply a further tax on companies trying to survive during challenging times. Whilst the original notion of investing in developing world class skills is commendable, the reality has turned out […]
Apprenticeship Levy: why UK businesses are losing out on £1 billion in funds and how to turn this around
The Apprenticeship Levy is being underused by UK businesses at the moment but, with a few tweaks, it could offer massive benefits to a lot of organisations. The Apprenticeship Levy constitutes the most significant development in employer-led training seen yet. Despite all the opportunities involved for both levy payers and non-payers to revive their focus […]
The Apprenticeship Levy
Why Company Training is Essential in The Long Run
Training is important, there’s no doubt about that. In spite of this, companies aren’t investing enough in it. In fact, while 56% of HR professionals believe training is essential to business health, they aren’t doing enough to make training opportunities more available to workers. Further, ineffective training comes at a cost or 13.5 million dollars […]
Mind the (skills) gap – getting the most from the Apprenticeship Levy
The last year has seen significant focus from UK government on supporting apprenticeships. Three million new apprenticeships are promised by 2020, as well as the development of new standards across a further 43 industry areas – bringing the total up to 61 and counting [PDF]. Apprenticeships are crucial to fuelling the economy with skilled, adaptable […]
Apprenticeship Numbers Continue to Fall
Apprenticeship numbers continue to fall; a period of adjustment or a policy requiring reform? In ‘Apprenticeships for Business – the impact of change’ we reported that apprenticeship numbers in the first quarter since the launch of the apprenticeship levy fell 60%, and unfortunately the trend is continuing with the last quarter’s numbers falling by a […]
2018 Training Industry Benchmark Report Findings
We recently released our 2018 Training Industry Benchmark Report which shares the current trends in the training industry and opportunities and challenges for training professionals. The report features insights from across the training industry in a whole host of business sectors including health and safety, professional development, project management and oil & gas. A consensus throughout the survey […]
The Apprenticeship Levy: making it work for your leadership needs
From the start, 2017 was dubbed a year of change. Whilst widespread political upheaval was a driving force behind this, significant change is rife elsewhere. In the UK, we’re now seeing somewhat of a revolution when it comes to the skills agenda. Investment in infrastructure and innovation was a clear priority for the government in 2017. […]
Levy Chaos: Is Consultancy the Way to Go?
The Apprenticeship Levy is now into its second year of fulfilment, and what an eventful time it has been. During its time of operation, we have encountered various reports in the media that suggest Apprenticeship Levy funding has been vastly overlooked by employers. To combat this, Solvo Vir has looked into alternative ways to spread the […]
Apprenticeships – not just for carpenters?
Apprenticeships that are business-focused can give you the edge. So why not use the Apprenticeship Levy to develop your managers and leaders? There’s already been plenty of noise made about the Apprenticeship Levy. Despite this, there’s still a significant number of managers and business owners who manage staff but won’t be making use of the levy. […]
The Apprenticeship Levy: where are all the apprentices?
The low volume of apprenticeships (down by 26% compared with 12 months ago) and the increasing gap between the government’s three million target and current levels is concerning for those involved in education and learning provision. So, what’s been going on and where’s it all heading? In my experience of working with levy payers and […]
Why the apprenticeship levy means more for your seniors than juniors
At first glance, the apprenticeships levy for large employers only looks important for traditional ‘apprentices’ coming into a business and entry-level training. But the implications are more far-reaching – maybe transformational when it comes to L&D budgets – and have a particular importance for more experienced staff. The levy means employers are going to need […]
Apprenticeship levy: reform is not the answer
For businesses to thrive, we need apprenticeships to work for everyone – let’s not derail progress with more reform. The use of the apprenticeships levy for higher level qualifications is a ‘mislabelling’ of courses, according to the recent Reform think-tank report (The great training robbery: assessing the first year of the apprenticeship levy, April 2018), […]
Your competitors will be using the Apprenticeship Levy – don’t get left behind
Jonathan Fitchew, CEO and Founder of training and recruitment specialist Pareto Law, explores recent survery results that indicate more businesses are seeing the benefits of the Apprenticeship Levy. He argues that those companies who have not yet signed up are missing a great opportunity – which their competitors are harnessing – to upskill their people and boost productivity. If […]
Why team morale and productivity go hand in hand
To quote Richard Branson, clients do not come first – employees come first – and if you take care of your employees, they will take care of your clients. But just how true is this of your business? In the training industry, this is the sort of motto we live by. As trainers, we encourage […]
Organisations should approach apprenticeship levy as an investment, not a tax
This is an interview with David Willett, Director of Corporate Sales at The Open University. TrainingZone has worked with The Open University to produce a whitepaper on Higher and Degree Apprenticeships for organisations that want to make the most of the apprenticeship levy. It’s free and available to download now. Jamie Lawrence, Managing Editor, HRZone.com: What’s […]
The Apprenticeship Levy: a radical reform of the UK skills map
Think of it as a skills levy, not an Apprenticeship Levy, argues Kirstie Donnelly MBE, Managing Director of City & Guilds Group. There’s no beating about the bush. To say that apprenticeships have had a rough ride over the past twelve months is nothing short of an understatement. But the there is no doubt that they […]
Using apprenticeships as a model for work-based learning
This is an interview with Jane Daly, Head of Strategic Insights at Towards Maturity, and was conducted off the back of the release of Towards Maturity’s free new report, In-Focus: The Work-Based Learning Dividend. Jamie Lawrence, Managing Editor, TrainingZone: How can we use apprenticeships as a model for effective work-based learning? Jane Daly, Head of Strategic […]
