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<p>Levy-paying employers can transfer funds to any employer, including smaller employers,
apprenticeship training agencies and charities, to support high-quality apprenticeship
training. Transfers enable levy-paying employers to support employers in their supply
chains, address local skills needs, and help sectors build sustainable capability
for the future.</p><p>Apprenticeships funded by transfers are on the same high-quality
employer designed standards and are delivered only by providers that are approved
to deliver apprenticeship training. All apprenticeships must last a minimum of 12
months and provide a minimum of 20% off-the-job training to ensure that every apprentice
develops the skills, knowledge and behaviours required for them to achieve full occupational
competence. This is confirmed by a rigorous and independent end-point assessment.</p><p>In
April 2019, the department increased the amount that levy payers could transfer and
are seeing numbers of transfers rise steadily. The latest figures show that in the
2018/19 academic year, 670 apprenticeship starts resulted from transferred commitments.
This increased to 4,630 starts the in the 2019/20 academic year. We publish further
detail on apprenticeship transfers here: <a href="https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships/2019-20"
target="_blank">https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/apprenticeships-and-traineeships/2019-20</a>.</p><p>As
my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, set out in the Spending Review,
the department will be making it easier for employers who pay the levy to find and
transfer unspent levy funds to small and medium sized enterprises, with the development
of a new online matching service and the facility to pledge funds in bulk from August
2021.</p><p>This work will build on initiatives, such as the Health Education England
scheme and the successful regional levy transfer pilot led by West Midlands Combined
Authority, where we are already seeing the benefits of work being undertaken to bring
large and small employers together.</p><p> </p>
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