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<p>The department’s reforms have created an employer-led apprenticeship system. Employers
across England are now empowered to design the apprenticeship standards which meet
their skills needs and to choose the apprenticeship training they need from a range
of high-quality providers.</p><p>In doing so, both employers who pay the apprenticeship
levy and those who do not can directly access government funding for apprenticeships.
As such, local employers are in control of an apprenticeship system which enables
them to address local skills needs. As a result, the department currently has no plans
to devolve any funding or responsibility for apprenticeships to mayors or other local
partners.</p><p>The department has worked closely with employers and mayoral combined
authorities to help them better address local skills needs through apprenticeships.
We have improved the apprenticeship levy transfer system, so it is easier for large
employers to transfer their unused funds to smaller employers, building on the work
of the West Midlands combined authority.</p><p>In September 2021, the department introduced
a new online service to enable large employers to pledge funds available for transfer,
allowing a much wider range of businesses to browse and apply for available funds.
Employers using the service can choose to pledge funds for a specific geographic area.
To date, employers including Amazon UK, DPD, and HomeServe have pledged to transfer
almost £9 million.</p><p>The government is increasing overall apprenticeship funding
to £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year. This funding will support apprenticeships
in employers of all sizes, including small employers who do not pay the apprenticeship
levy and for whom the government will continue to pay 95% of training costs.</p>
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