The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has responded to the recent apprenticeship funding proposals announced by Government stating that they “appear to strike a reasonable balance” considering the support that small employers need.
The new frameworks are set to come into effect on May 1, 2017, so that levy paying employers can use funds in their digital account to pay for training from the first month they declare levy payable through the PAYE system.
The new apprenticeship levy will see all companies with a payroll of more than £3m pay 0.5% of staff spending via PAYE to fund the system.
As part of the new proposals, employers with a wage bill of less than £3m will be required to pay 10% contributions towards the cost of training and assessment, with Government paying the remaining 90%, thus the majority of small employers won’t end up paying more towards training costs than they currently do.
Brian Berry, chief executive of the FMB, commented: “The funding arrangements announced today appear to strike a reasonable balance, which takes into account the support that small employers need.
“FMB members report significantly higher costs and difficulties associated with training apprentices straight out of school. Therefore, it is right that for small employers training 16-18 year olds, this co-investment requirement will be waived and a further £1,000 payment will be paid to employers to help with these costs.
“We strongly welcome the decision not to require small employers to start using the new system until at least 2018. Government and representatives of small employers need to use this time to thoroughly road test the new system and make sure that it fits the needs of the very smallest firms, those we continue to rely on to train the majority of our industry’s workforce.”
