As an apprenticeship provider itself, and as a large organisation who pays the government Apprenticeship Levy, Reed has the option to transfer up to 25% of its annual levy funds to other employers.
These funds cannot be used to pay an apprentice’s salary but will provide the financial support on a monthly basis to cover all associated costs for the duration of an individual’s training.
Both the giving and receiving organisations in the agreement must be registered on the Apprenticeship Service.
Reed’s Apprenticeship team, headed by Christine Holland have now successfully created two partnerships in order for Reed to be able to support smaller businesses in the UK on the scheme.
Working together with co-members from Reed Talent Solutions, the Apprenticeship team were able to identify some potential partners from RTS’ existing clients and contacts.
The two organisations Reed have partnered with are:
London Progression Collaboration – LPC
Greater Manchester Combined Authority – GMCA
London Progression Collection
The LPC is a pilot programme focussed on supporting SME’s across London boroughs through the post pandemic recovery, with a target of 1000 apprenticeship starts by September 2021.
Their focus is in various sectors including Retail, Construction, Hospitality and Health & Social Care, all apprenticeship levels 2-4.
They have £1.3m currently pledged by supporting levy paying companies including BBC, Amazon, AMEX and Wilmott Dixon.
To date they have funded over 30 apprenticeship starts with at least 80 more underway.
Greater Manchester Combined Authority
The GMCA works across 10 local authorities in the Greater Manchester area.
Their levy matchmaking service is unique in that it is hosted on a digital platform and allows both the levy paying company and the SME to access the website at any time to review opportunities and updates on demand.
GMCA currently have over £2m pledged, with Lloyds Banking being a major supporter and IT, Technology and Health & Social care the most popular sectors for apprenticeship opportunities.
Reed is committed to supporting the UK economy and livelihoods in anyway it can in this time of COVID-19. CEO James Reed plays a key role in the Keep Britain Working campaign, which you can learn more about / support here.