Why letting your Levy build could be a problem

The lack of clarity surrounding the Apprenticeship Levy 

has left many organisations in limbo; either on the back foot trying to play catch up by putting ‘panic’ provisions in place, rather than ensuring best return on investment or as with many larger businesses, those who are prepared but planning levy spends in such detail, that come 24 months’ time there’ll be too much Levy.

There are 3 types of organisations particularly vulnerable to Levy build up:

The Highly Skilled:

Being an organisation that has many highly skilled, highly paid workers such as a Sports Clubs, Solicitors and Logistics organisations, equals the obvious dilemma; too much Levy for too few-a-people. Whilst writing it off may seem like the only option, there are ways to be smart when investing it.

Team Leading programmes are a great way to build confidence for those with future management potential. Higher Management Apprenticeships are a great way to consolidate more senior managers learning, providing them with knowledge and skills to make difficult decisions, access to a wealth of online resources and free CMI Membership.

More than anything increased training brings morale to your business, so rather than seeing it as a bad thing, use it to your advantage. Use it, or lose it.

The Large Employer:

Larger employers also face the problem of slow moving Levy negotiations, with various departments and facets of the business involved, developing a thorough plan for the Levy is a time consuming task but the longer this drags on the more the Levy builds.

There are so many options it can almost be overwhelming and choosing a provider that is the right cultural fit is often challenge. Moving forward with one aspect of the business is better than no action at all. Pilot schemes are a great way forward, for larger organisations to test the water with a Training provider. Piloting a sample of your customer service advisers in one call centre or just the recruitment of new Apprentices is a great way to get a feel for fit. Like buying a new pair of shoes, you wouldn’t walk out the shop without trying them on, so why do the same with your training provider?

High-Turnover sector companies:

Some sectors such as Retail and Recruitment are more vulnerable to higher staff turnover than others. This can leave employers thinking: ‘why bother training people if they will take the skills we’ve taught them elsewhere?’ Training is proven to increase employee retention rates as learners feel they are being invested in for the long haul. Recruiting bright young talent into your business and training them from the ground up, is a great way to build employee loyalty. They, as people, feel they are being invested in from the beginning and you can use training to mould them for the future; they learn their job, your way.

Want to know more about managing your Levy? Download our Managed Service Factsheet or call 0808 100 1155 and speak to one of our friendly, knowledgeable team.