MAYOR’S LEVY TRANSFER CAMPAIGN FUNDS APPRENTICESHIPS AT VAUXHALL LAW CENTRE
A campaign by Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram to encourage big employers to help smaller firms fund local training has topped almost £4m and created over 800 apprenticeships…
A campaign by Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram to encourage big employers to help smaller firms fund local training has topped almost £4m and created over 800 apprenticeships. Vauxhall Law Centre is one of the organisations who have benefitted.
The Apprenticeship Levy
Last year, Mayor Rotheram launched a drive to reallocate tens of millions of pounds of unspent Apprenticeship Levy.
“Large employers are required by law to pay 0.5% of their wage bill towards an Apprenticeship Levy – which is collected by the government to fund apprenticeships. Levy payers can spend their own allocation on in-house apprentices or gift up to 25% of the money to other organisations.”
STEVE ROTHERAM, MAYOR OF LIVERPOOL CITY REGION
Around £2.2bn of Apprenticeship Levy underspend has been handed back to the treasury in the six years since its launch. The underspend in the Liverpool City Region is estimated to be in the tens of millions. The Combined Authority’s Employer Brokerage Service has repurposed almost £4m in unused Levy so far to create over 800 apprenticeships which will see an estimated ROI of over £100m for the city region.
“Utilising our Apprenticeship Levy transfer service will result in much needed Levy Funds being retained within the Liverpool City Region to benefit our local employers. We would urge Levy paying organisations who are losing Levy funds each year to contact us, as well as looking at the option of receiving apprenticeship Levy funds through the transfer.”
joe keegan, employer brokerage manager at lcr combined authority
Vauxhall Law Centre
Vauxhall Law Centre are among the city region organisations to be helped by the transfer scheme. Development Officer Elly Smith was recruited to the centre thanks to funding transferred from shopping channel QVC – and new apprentice, Sam Holmes, thanks to funds from tourism company TUI UK&I.
“The apprenticeship allowed me to increase not only my fundraising knowledge but also my confidence levels massively… The support I have received outside of my own independent learning in the workshops has helped to not only solidify this knowledge but allow me to apply it to my day to day work. This is all thanks to the support and highly skilled staff at the Employer Brokerage Service who have helped Vauxhall Law Centre to develop from strength to strength. Our people are our greatest asset and to enable them to reach their full potential with support of apprenticeship levy transfer has made a significant and transformational impact at the centre. With the Employer Brokerage Service support and guidance in securing levy transfer we can foresee a positive and successful future for the organisation. “
elly smith, development officer
Elly is supported by the organisation’s second apprentice, Sam Holmes. Sam will be undergoing a Level 3 Apprenticeship in Fundraising to improve his skills and knowledge on fundraising in a charitable organisation, learning from other apprentices in his cohort and his apprenticeship coach. Sam has already had an extremely positive start to the role and is looking forward to building and exceeding his potential in relation to fundraising in a small, but growing, fast paced charity that recently celebrated it’s 50th year in existence.
“I’m fortunate enough to have so far been able to learn from Elly’s previous experience and knowledge in the area of fundraising. I’m really looking forward to taking part in the apprenticeship, and further developing my own abilities, and learning new skills that will hopefully assist me in my role as a development support officer.”
SAM HOLMES, fundraising APPRENITICE
Support from the Employer Brokerage Service
Vauxhall Law Centre secured it’s first apprenticeship levy with the support of Siobhan Grosscurth at the Employer Brokerage service in 2020 with the aim of developing the organisation’s income streams and overall development of the centre. Since that time the impact the apprenticeship has had at the centre has been transformational to clients, staff and the management team.
“When I started working with Vauxhall Law Centre they had never recruited an Apprentice and were keen to understand the benefits and scope of Apprenticeships for the business…Vauxhall Law Centre were a perfect candidate for Levy Transfer, QVC were happy to support with transfer, so Elly was recruited and started her apprenticeship journey. 3 years later, Elly got in touch to update me on her progression into a management role…and that she wanted to recruit a further Apprentice. We followed the same process and Sam was recruited, with TUI UK&I agreeing to fund this Apprenticeship via our Levy Transfer Pledge.”
Siobhan grosscurth, employer broker
When Vauxhall law centre originally contacted the Employer Brokerage Service the organisation had just formally relaunched and had bold visions of how the centre aimed to grow in terms of the services provided, number of staff and underpinning all of this work was the crucial need to secure further grant funding to ensure the sustainability of the organisation. Having an apprentice on board during this time meant that Elly was able to use the skills she had learned during her apprenticeship to support this next phase of development and establish a fundraising strategy, develop a new website for the organisation, increasing the social media and overall online presence. Elly also managed to secure grants that allowed for a full time bereavement support caseworkers to support people in the local community with bereavement queries arising out of the pandemic.
If you are interested in transferring or receiving Levy Transfer funds or recruiting an apprentice then get in touch with the Employer Brokerage Service HERE.