On 24 September 2024, the UK Prime Minister and Education Secretary in England Bridget Phillipson released a statement which included the line about the introduction of a new growth and skills levy ‘which will replace the existing apprenticeship levy’. A Written Statement on 02 June 2025 in the House of Commons by the Education Secretary in England again refers to ‘a new growth and skills levy’.
ICB wants to clarify what this new levy means in practice for payroll and software developer professionals. Is this something new we will have to administer in software? Professionals can rest assured that this is not something new and will not change payroll administration practices. The Apprenticeship Levy will continue to operate as now.
Howver, the name change does signal significant changes for employers when it comes to using Levy funds for apprenticeship training. There are two important points to make:
1. Education and skills, including apprenticeships, are a devolved responsibility. In practice, this means England has its own apprenticeship format but this is not the same as that operated in the other countries that comprise our United Kingdom; and
2. It has always been the case that whilst the Apprenticeship Levy applies UK-wide, it is only employers in England that can access these funds and have a choice on which apprenticeships to fund
The significant changes for employers in England include the following, all administered by the new Skills England body:
- There will be broader training options for employers in England who will be able to use Levy funds on a range of training programmes, not just apprenticeships;
- The co-investment model will continue, with the Government planning to simplify procedures to facilitate access and use of funding by smaller businesses;
- Skills England will focus on training aligned with regional skills gaps in high demand and growth sectors
For Bookkeepers
The development of the reforms and Skills England are something to keep an eye on, however, the purpose of this news piece is to allay fears that the Growth and Skills Levy is new. It is simply the Apprenticeship Levy by another name.
