OxLEP has this week announced that one of its key programmes – which aims to retain investment supporting the creation of apprenticeships in the county – is now closing in on an overall project target of £1.7 million, with critical funding continuing to find its way into small businesses.
OxLEP Skills’ Social Contract programme – set up in May last year – aims to work with Oxfordshire’s large businesses, encouraging them to pledge their unused apprenticeship levy towards small businesses which, in-turn, supports many organisations in the county to create apprenticeship opportunities.
The Social Contract is a £1.7 million programme of activity funded by the government’s Contain Outbreak Management Fund via Oxfordshire County Council and led by OxLEP Skills. It aims to address several impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic relating to health and wellbeing through unemployment, barriers to employment, education and training.
This week, it has been revealed that the programme has attracted just short of £1.7 million of levy pledges.
This latest levy pledge milestone means OxLEP Skills continues to far exceed an original £1.3 million target of pledges set for the Social Contract programme.
The apprenticeship levy is paid by large employers with an annual pay bill of £3 million or more. Companies can choose to transfer up to 25% of their levy funds each year to help other businesses pay for their apprenticeship training and assessment.
If levy funding is not utilised within those large companies, or pledged to smaller businesses, it is lost to Oxfordshire and returned to the Treasury.
The Social Contract programme works directly with those companies applicable to the levy – raising awareness of pledge opportunities – as well as acting a liaison with small businesses, highlighting that funding is available to support the creation of apprenticeships within their respective organisations.
Sally Andreou, Skills Hub Manager at OxLEP, said: “This latest milestone is a significant achievement for OxLEP. The employers who have pledged their levy funding to smaller Oxfordshire businesses can truly say they are making a real difference to many organisations looking to grow, as well as helping to create life-changing opportunities for many people, set to start out on their apprenticeship journeys.
"Apprenticeships are a vital part of our economy and by reinvesting apprenticeship levy funding, we can support smaller businesses in the county to grow their workforce and retain high-quality talent.
“We continue to encourage small businesses in Oxfordshire – who have not yet taken advantage of the funds available through the apprenticeship levy transfer scheme – to get involved and unlock the door to a growing future workforce.”
To date, OxLEP Skills has supported companies such as B&Q, JDE Banbury, Ridge and Thames Water to manage their levy pledges, ensuring funding is retained within the Oxfordshire economy.
The overall investment has supported many small businesses and their growth ambitions, with the Social Contract funding leading to close to 100 new apprenticeship starts in Oxfordshire – this includes a high proportion of apprenticeships being set-up in critical sectors such as health and social care, plus other opportunities created in sectors such as accountancy, construction and engineering.
One of the latest levy contributors has been engineering and construction company, Costain.
The company has pledged £15,000 to support a nursing associate apprentice at Chipping Norton Health Centre, with leading facilities management and professional services company Mitie committing to fund five further nursing associate apprenticeships.
To find out how your business can pledge unused apprenticeship levy or gain access to funding or support for an apprenticeship, contact OxLEP Skills.
