The Levy is well and truly underway and the numbers of organisations who are now engaging is making steady progress after an understandably slow start. In October the government announced a package of reforms to ensure the Apprenticeship Levy was fit for purpose and that it was providing Apprentices with the skills they would need to succeed.
The changes are being made to introduce more flexibility to businesses so that a wider audience of people can engage in Apprenticeships, people who may be in the supply chain of the business not just direct employees. An extra 90 million of funding has been made available to help boost the number of people able to benefit from the high quality Apprenticeship training now on offer. A further 5 million has been allocated to the IFA (Institute for Apprenticeships) to help introduce new standards as well as updating and shaping existing ones to broaden the offer.
The government is also establishing a National Retraining Scheme to support adults across the country and equip the workforce with the skills needed for the new economy. While their scheme is being developed, the government is also funding additional projects including 30 million to test the use of AI and innovative Edtech along with 34 million for construction skills funding.
You may already know that the Levy can be used for training new recruits of any age as well as existing staff across all sectors, in a variety of roles. By upskilling your current team you can introduce new skills all of the way to degree level which not only helps to boost morale but in turn helps with staff retention.
Riverside Training follows a very structured process to help you shape and/or enhance your workforce development plan at the very start of the process so that your Levy account is maximised from day one and for a 3 – 5 year period. We firmly believe that this early planning is essential for the success of any Apprenticeship programme being embedded into business as it cross references all job descriptions to the relevant Apprenticeship Standard and appropriate level so that when businesses are recruiting or promoting staff they know exactly which qualification goes with each role. This provides structure and consistency and will entice others to apply for jobs in the future.
The beauty of these qualifications is that they are delivered, in the main, in the workplace and the learning is captured and managed on a state of the art eLearning system called BUD. This allows the learner to access their work and to communicate with their tutor 24/7 which takes the pressure off the employer and employee to fit it in around the provider. This type of delivery is known as blended learning and it perfectly suits industry and commerce from time efficiency to financial cost.
Your team may already be highly qualified and you may wonder what you can possibly add to their technical competence, particularly if they are already at degree level. This is where Riverside comes into its own by looking carefully at their job roles and responsibilities we can make recommendations around development paths that will tangibly add value to their day to day performance. We develop managers from junior/supervisory level through to strategic staff who are shaping and directing the business. This is traditionally an area where organisations start and we are adept at introducing a management development programme into national organisations. We take on the work of meeting, screening and enrolling staff and report into the Learning and Development team on progress, it’s a simple as it sounds because of our skilled tutors and cutting edge software.
The introduction of the Levy has firmly secured Apprenticeships and created a parity of esteem with all other development routes on offer and as the new standards become familiar to employers they will look for these qualifications on CV’s and understand just what’s been learned to achieve these results which will add value and desire to this type of development.
We firmly believe in the Apprenticeship Levy and we work hand in hand with our employers to ensure those staff on Apprenticeship Standards with us reach their full potential as employees and as managers of the future
Remember, if you don’t start spending the money accumulated in your account by May 2019 you will start to lose it into a funding mechanism that supports your competitors, let us help you to get things moving, we are here to help.