Apprenticeship Standards now available to Non-Levy Payers

Cambridge Professional Academy have been supporting apprentices on the new Marketing and Management apprenticeship standards since late 2018, and as of February 2019 will have supported or are currently supporting nearly 200 apprentices across 28 cohorts, with 14 public sessions in Manchester & London as well as 14 in-company apprenticeship programmes.

Until recently these programmes were only available to levy paying organisations, For those unfamiliar with the levy, this is a government apprenticeship draw down that comes into effect if a business has a payroll of more than £3m per year. However, we are happy to say that as of January 2020 non-levy payers now have access to the same apprenticeship standards that Cambridge Professional Academy have been delivering over the last 18 months.

How can SME’s access apprenticeship funding?

If your annual wage bill is less than £3m per year from January 2020 your business will be able to access the same Apprenticeships, by the same providers, that the largest levy-paying organisations in your industry have access to.

You will not have to pay the full amount for the training as the Government will pay 95% of the cost of training and assessment (not salary) for up to 3 Apprentices.

All you have to do is register on the government’s Manage Apprenticeships Service Website. You can find a link and some instructions on our Understanding the Apprenticeship Levy page.

Once you have registered you will be able to reserve funding for a programme starting within the next 3 months, select your preferred provider from the full list of options and can even advertise an apprenticeship vacancy from here if you do not already have the staff you need in place.

What apprenticeships are available to my business?

All apprenticeship standards are now available to your business and you can find a full break down of all the apprenticeship standards on the Institute of Apprenticeship website.

Cambridge Professional Academy’s next round of public cohorts start in April/May 2020 for the following standards:

We at Cambridge Professional Academy fully support the apprenticeship standards and have seen how much UK businesses have benefited from the coaching and development the programmes have provided their team members. We feel this is a tremendous opportunity for SME’s to provide their sales & marketing teams with access to industry leading training with mentors and trainers who are not just academics but practitioners of the disciplines they are supporting, as highlighted in our recent Ofsted visit

So, if you are an SME who wants to take advantage of an almost fully funded training programme for your team why not contact our apprenticeship advice team via apprenticeships@professionalacademy.com, or calling 01223 365 505?