HOW TO CREATE A SUCCESSFUL APPRENTICESHIP LEVY STRATEGY

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1 HOW TO CREATE A SUCCESSFUL APPRENTICESHIP LEVY STRATEGY INTRODUCTION The Government has recognised that a large skills gap in the UK employment market is stunting economic growth. Traditional methods of education remove learners from the workplace for extended periods of time, meaning the benefit of using knowledge in a work-setting as soon as it is learnt is lost. In April 2017, a new initiative, the Apprenticeship Levy, will begin to strongly incentivise organisations, both public and private sector, to train both existing and new staff through apprenticeship programmes. In addition to the Levy, newly created standards will also go live. The standards have been created through employer groups and are job-role specific. All training providers and FE colleges offering apprenticeships have had to apply to be on the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers. Those eligible will be confirmed in March HOW THE LEVY WILL WORK For employers with an annual payroll of more than 3million, inclusive of pensions, bonuses and commissions, 0.5% of this payroll will be charged through the PAYE process using monthly instalments. This amount will be held in a digital account for 2 years to be drawn down in the form of digital vouchers to apprenticeship providers. Providers will be paid in monthly instalments with a final balloon payment on completion. A levy allowance of 15,000 per year will mean that the total amount you need to pay is 0.5% of your pay bill, minus 15,000. The government will also top-up every 1 entering your digital account by 10%, therefore for every 1 you put in, you will have 1.10 to spend. Each standard has a funding cap attributed to it, but it will be a negotiation between the organisation and training provider that will set the price. The organisation will then inform HMRC on the cost of the apprenticeship. If the learner breaks from learning or leaves part way through, the organisation must inform HMRC. For further information, see: Those excluded from the levy or wishing to top-up their apprenticeship budget will be asked to contribute 10% of the cost of the apprenticeship, meaning that for every 1 an organisation puts in, the Government will contribute 9. Funds can be spent on either Apprenticeship Standards or Frameworks. The Knowledge Academy will offer predominantly standards, however if you require frameworks, please enquire. Frameworks will be expired by 2020.

2 OUR UNDERSTANDING OF YOUR CHALLENGES Each organisation will have its own unique challenges, however, we recognise that there are going to be underlying themes in regards to people, locations, departmental issues and budgets that all organisations, whether levy or non-levy payers, will face. Some of the questions we aim to answer are: 1. What is the smartest way to spend the Levy or 1: 9 training investment split? 2. How can I get more out of my apprenticeship budget? 3. How do I implement Avenoire successfully? 4. How do I choose the right standards, apprentices and training provider for your organisation? 5. How should I track and manage spend and learner progress? 6. How do I measure the Return in Investment of training? 7. What will be the impact on the business by releasing apprentices for 20% of their working time to undertake their learning? 8. How can I keep apprentices engaged throughout the programme and retain them within the organisation? 9. How can I ensure that learners receive top quality training whilst maintaining best value? 10. How should I balance and manage the commercial constraints and expectations of Learning and Development, Finance and Department Heads? THE KNOWLEDGE ACADEMY APPROACH Over the past 7 years, the Knowledge Academy has grown into a successful training business with over 300 staff, with a turnover of more than 30 million. We specialise in training corporates and the public sector internationally in professional courses from project management to IT and digital solutions. The Knowledge Academy prides itself in its agility to adapt and respond to client s business demands whilst maintaining world class quality we move as fast as you need us to! We will be offering apprenticeships in line with our current core business, however our experience and ability to provide diverse training in any area will be available to all apprenticeship clients, dependent on cohort size and /or location. Our permanent sites, nationwide, will enable flexible learning as we will be able to teach and assess both on and off-site, giving your learners a professional training environment and structure to their course. Each apprentice will have a dedicated assessor to guide them through their programme of learning. Throughout our programmes, trainers from our professional training division will hold workshops and webinars to enhance your apprentices learning. In-house mentors will be trained in how to best support their apprentice, ensuring all apprentices feel valued in your organisation. For apprentices who are not part of an organisational cohort, training will occur at one of our national centres with assessment still occurring onsite. This is to ensure that all apprentices receive the very best quality of training, regardless if you are part of an organisational cohort of 1 or 50. Your account manager, assessors and our learner support team will ensure that your learners, managers and learning and development team are constantly updated through our on-line portfolio system and regular verbal and written reports. We will continuously work with both organisation and learner to ensure they are successful in passing their end point assessment but also as an employee in the business. Whether you are looking to develop existing employees or hire new talent, The Knowledge Academy is committed to the very best educational experience for all learners.

3 APPRENTICE RECRUITMENT Through our partner Oxford Hanson, our professional recruiters will work with your organisation to search and supply the best talent to fill your apprentice vacancies. We understand fully that the success of your apprenticeships starts with placing the right candidate in the right role. Oxford Hanson is a dynamic recruitment company that has a strong history in supporting businesses through candidate hiring and training. Discovering the most promising talent and finding the most perfect job role is where they excel. THE LEVY ACADEMY The Levy Academy is a management support network for those corporates investing significant proportions of their levy in our Apprenticeships, which will be tailored to your needs and strategy. The benefits include; 1. Free of charge and discounted organisational training outside of apprenticeships 2. Free Avenoire software licences worth 1000 per learner plus free upgrades 3. Exclusive access to our highly interactive library of e-learning and direct study resources 4. Discounted general recruitment services from Oxford Hanson 5. Preferential meeting room rates through InstaVenues, our meeting room partner 6. Organisational mapping Your learning consultant will understand your business strategy, skill gaps, projects and how the apprentices and our training can add additional value. 7. Personal Learning Consultant, dedicated customer-service and Learner Support 8. Networking and information events around new standards and changes to the levy WHAT IS AVENOIRE? Avenoire has been designed to manage your apprenticeship levy from end to end and evidence Return on Investment (ROI). Our unique calculator uses an algorithm to put a monetary figure on the productivity gained from your investment. Working with your Learning and Development team, we tailor our training needs analysis to establish where skills gaps are in your company. Managers and individuals can request what they perceive to be the right apprenticeship and training and this can be mapped to your organisational skills gap. Using 360 degree feedback surveys, we can monitor and evidence the impact of the training on both individuals and teams. Avenoire integrates into your systems where needed along with our e-portfolio system, enabling you to see a one-stop view of apprentice progress and levy spend. We are also currently investigating as to whether we will be able to integrate it into organisations digital accounts. To ensure we are fully resourced to cater for your needs and The Levy Academy s benefits, we are asking for letters of intent to secure your place.

4 OUR CORE STANDARDS / QUALIFICATIONS FROM MAY 2017: DIGITAL INDUSTRIES BUSINESS SKILLS PUBLIC SECTOR IT Technical Salesperson Customer Service Public Sector Operational Delivery Officer Infrastructure Technician Business Administration Network Engineer Team Leading / Supervisors PROJECTS Software Development Technician Software Developer Operational / Departmental Manager Associate Project Management Software Tester HR QCF FRAMEWORKS Unified Communications Technician HR Support L3 Diploma in Sales Unified Communications Troubleshooter Digital Marketer Data Analyst Cyber Intrusion Analyst Cyber Security Technologist IT Business Administrator (expected Q1) IT Support (expected Q1) L3 Diploma in Customer Service L2 Diploma in Customer Service L3 Diploma in Business Administration L3 Diploma in Management L3 Diploma in IT Web and Telecoms Additional standards will be added to our core list as they become live. Please enquire if you require a standard or framework not on the list. DIGITAL & TECHNOLOGY AND PROJECT MANAGEMENT STANDARDS Due to our extensive experience in technical IT and project management, learners will be taught the knowledge modules by The Knowledge Academy s own professional trainers, ensuring the very best quality and up-to-date content. We recognise in these technical areas that trainers and assessors are likely to have very different skills sets. Through splitting the traditional trainer / assessor model, we can guarantee a significantly higher quality of apprenticeship in all areas. Throughout all of our apprenticeships, where applicable, learners will attend workshops by trainers, in addition to their assessor s teaching. JANUARY MAY 2017 Over the coming months we are meeting End Point Assessment centres to create partnerships and understand how their EPA will work for learners. We will be formulating our course and e-learning material and building our teams to ensure we are fully functional by 1 st May. In the meantime, we are meeting with organisations to discuss your strategy for apprenticeships and your business as a whole to understand how we can best support and guide you. Like all training providers, we await the RoATP results, but in the meantime we will be signing up organisations to The Levy Academy to ensure we are fully resourced before 1 st May to support all clients, no matter the size, and ensure you are as prepared as possible for The Apprenticeship Levy and new Apprenticeship Standards.

5 NEXT STEPS Meet Meet with one of our Learning Consultants to discuss and plan you Apprenticeship Strategy Write Write a letter of intent to secure your place as a member of The Levy Academy (if applicable) Understand Your learning consultant works with you to understand your organisations's objectives throughout the apprenticeship and beyond Map We map your organisation to understand your organisational skill gaps and departments' learning needs Launch Your tailored levy strategy is launched and recruitment and enrollment of learners begins 1st May GO LIVE!