18th March 2015

On 17 March, 10 Downing Street announced a voucher model for putting employers in control of apprenticeship funding.  The voucher model will be tested by the Skills Funding Agency and will go live in 2017.  The announcement stated that:

‘The government is also putting employers in control of the funding for apprenticeships by introducing a new digital apprenticeship voucher. Apprenticeship vouchers will further simplify things for employers and give them the purchasing power over the government contribution to apprenticeship funding. The employer would register their details on a system being developed by the Skills Funding Agency including their type of business, the details of the apprentice and the apprenticeship standard being signed up to. The discounted rate, which could be up to 100% for 16 to 18 year olds, at which employers can purchase training would be calculated and the employer would be able to pass on the voucher code to the provider that is delivering the training for their apprentice. The provider would then reclaim the value of the voucher from the Skills Funding Agency.’

The announcement can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-and-dpm-announce-increase-in-the-national-minimum-wage