Large businesses will be able to easily pledge funds to smaller businesses through a new government service, which will help create and recruit for more apprenticeship opportunities.
Pledge and transfer your apprenticeship levy funds
The government's new online service (external link) makes it easier for you to transfer unspent levy funds to support apprenticeships in other businesses. It is a great way to create opportunities and close skills gaps in sectors and locations you want to support.
How it works
If you have any unspent levy funds, you can now create a pledge of up to 25% of your annual levy funds. You can select how much funding you want to transfer and can choose the types of businesses and apprenticeships you want to support.
All businesses, training providers and intermediary bodies, will be able to see these funding opportunities on a gov.uk webpage, which will be available from the end of September 2021. If your business meets the criteria, you'll be able to apply for funding to pay for 100% of your apprenticeship training and assessment costs (up to the funding band maximum).
Creating a pledge
To create a pledge, sign in to your apprenticeship service account (external link), go to ‘Finances’ and then ‘Transfers’.
In your account, you can also review, approve or reject any pledge applications.