University of Oxford supports Active Oxfordshire
Unused Apprenticeship Levy funds are being transferred to the organisation so that they can further develop their employees through Apprenticeship training
The University of Oxford Apprenticeships Team are supporting local businesses and charities by transferring unused Apprenticeship levy funds that can be used on Apprenticeship training. This will provide huge opportunities for SMEs who do not have the necessary funds, by enabling them to recruit and train new employees or upskill existing members of their team. It is a fantastic way in which the University can support the local community and so far the Apprenticeships team has committed to transfer over £500,000 of unused levy.
Active Oxfordshire
We have started to transfer Apprenticeship funds to Active Oxfordshire, to allow their employees to undertake Apprenticeship training in operations management and team leader programmes.
"This is a great example of a world class organisation like the University of Oxford sharing its skills/resources with the local voluntary and charitable sector working to fight inactivity and tackle inequality. This partnership is particularly appropriate given the University’s incredible role in the fight against Covid and the impact that has had on local communities across the County where we were part of the Oxfordshire All In movement, a powerful network of local organisations coming together in response to the COVID-19 crisis.
This transfer will enable us to strengthen the skills and capability within our team and help us to create a real step change in tackling health inequalities and increasing activity levels across the county."
- Active Oxfordshire
Active Oxfordshire also commented on the need for the apprenticeship levy transfer:
"We are very committed to training and development opportunities for our team and the apprenticeship levy transfer is a fantastic opportunity to build up our capacity and capability. The investment in training of our existing and new staff will help build their leadership and management skills to equip them to take advantage of the opportunities that exist to build back better and fairer, so that activity is part of everybody’s everyday life."
- Active Oxfordshire
Learners
We asked some of their employees to tell us about how they feel about the apprenticeship training.
"This is a great opportunity to take on this apprenticeship as I feel this is the next step I need to make on my career path - the “how can I go further” stage! I'm really looking forward to getting started and learning new and different skills to broaden my expertise!"
- Lucy Disley: Level 3 Apprenticeship
"I am really excited to get started on the CMI Level 5 Operations / Departmental apprenticeship. The course will help to embed key knowledge and learning for my role at Active Oxfordshire and play an important part in my personal career development through the learning of new skills. The course has a great structure that includes both on and off the job training and fits well around the requirements of my employed role at Active Oxfordshire. I am looking forward to working with my tutor and seeing where the course takes me."
- Richard Claydon, Level 5 Apprenticeship
About Active Oxfordshire
Active Oxfordshire is one of 43 Active Partnerships across the UK, funded by Sport England and other local partners. Their key strategic priorities, known as Three Pillars, are Healthy Active Children, Healthy Place Shaping and Healthy for Life. Find out more at www.activeoxfordshire.org/
What is the Apprenticeships Levy?
The UK Government introduced the Apprenticeship Levy in April 2017. The Levy requires all employers operating in the UK, with a pay bill over £3 million each year, to invest in Apprenticeships. Employers in England who pay the Levy, which include the University, are able to access funding through a digital Apprenticeship service account which enables them to select and pay Government-approved training providers for Apprenticeship training. The levy is charged at a rate of 0.5% of an employer's pay bill.
Please note: the Apprenticeship levy can only be used to pay for the training of staff with an approved training provider.
How do transfers work?
Employers who pay the levy and have unused funds are able to support other employers who are looking to receive a transfer. From April 2019, these employers are able to transfer up to 25% of their annual funds. These funds can only be used to pay for training by a Government approved training provider.
