The levy is designed to fund apprenticeship training for all employers, wherever they are in the UK. The levy is, in effect, an additional tax paid by all large employers with a pay bill of over £3 million. They pay 0.5% of their total UK-wide annual pay bill into what is known as a ‘digital account’ or a ‘levy pot’. Levy paying employers access the funds in their digital account or levy pot through the online apprenticeship service and can only use these funds to pay for approved apprenticeship training in England. The training providers that are allowed to deliver the apprenticeship must be on the Register of Approved Training Providers (RoATP) and Bragd have been on the register for many years. Sometimes levy paying employers will use up all of the funds in their digital account. The good news is that when this happens, they can continue to fund apprenticeships, but only need to contribute 5% of the apprenticeship cost; the government will pay the remaining 95%.

The funds in the digital account are valid for 24 months from the date the levy bill was paid, and if these funds aren’t used by the employer, the employers technically lose this money. The good news there are a lot of things an employer to do to prevent this happening. For example, they can work with a company like Bragd who will give them help and advice on which apprenticeships are suitable not just for new recruits, but for their existing staff too, and so use the funds to upskill and retain key personnel. Other options include transferring up to 25% of their levy funds to other employers, so if a levy paying employer wants to support their supply chain or partners they work with’ they can do that quite easily and see a real return on their investment.

If the employer has staff based in the devolved regions of the UK, they pay their levy bill based on their UK wide payroll bill, but they cannot use their digital account funds to pay directly for Apprenticeship training in the devolved regions. If for example, an employer has 25% of their staff in Scotland and 75% of their staff in England, 75% of their levy bill will go into their digital account for use in England, but 25% (the Scottish percentage) will in effect be sent to Scotland to be used to fund amongst other things – Modern Apprenticeships. This gives another way employers can maximise their levy bill. By working with Bragd (who are one of a handful of UK wide apprenticeship providers) employers can maximise the different regional funding streams and so deliver apprenticeship in the devolved regions, normally with no additional financial costs.

Bragd specialise in helping UK wide employers understand and maximise the available funding streams, wherever they are in the UK. Not only are we on the RoATP, we also have a contract with Skills Development Scotland (SDS) to deliver apprenticeship training in Scotland. We also have a partnership contract that allow us to deliver apprenticeships in Wales too. To find out more about the levy, how it works and how you can maximise your levy pot, contact us on 01173 258 676 or email pam@bragd.co.uk.

Apprenticeship funding is available for smaller employers too. Employers with a total annual pay bill of less than £3million can use RoATP approved provider to deliver apprenticeship training and just pay just 5% of the cost of their apprenticeship training. The Government pays the rest. This only relates to employers where their staff are based in England. For information on how SMEs, or employers of any size, can access apprenticeship funding in the devolved regions, have a browse through the rest of this page.

When levy payers have unspent levy funds in their digital account, can transfer up to 25% of their levy funds to other employers, including SMEs to use for apprenticeship training. If you are a non-levy payer, but have connections or work in partnership with a levy payer, the levy payer may be willing to help you. It’s worth remembering is employers have 24 months to use the funds in their digital account once they enter their apprenticeship service account, after this point, their funds will expire. Spending the funds to support a preferred organisation is therefore a wise move. The amount of money the levy payer will transfer for your use should cover 100% of the eligible training and assessment costs, up to the funding band maximum, of the apprenticeship standard. This does not include English and maths training up to and including level 2, which is funded separately.

If you are based in one of the devolved regions, we can help identify apprenticeship funding streams for you and help design build and deliver fit-for-purpose apprenticeship programmes to upskill existing staff or help you recruit a new member of the team. To find out more about how we can help non-levy payers maximise available funding streams, contact us on 01173 258 676 or email pam@bragd.co.uk.

ELCAS is a MOD scheme designed to promote lifelong learning amongst members of the Armed Forces. ELCAS provides members of the military with funding ranging from £1,000 to £2,000 depending on time served. Bragd are delighted to be an ELCAS approved training provider and to offer various accredited qualifications that attract ELCAS funding including courses in digital and IT, cyber security, digital marketing, management & leadership and business services. 

To be eligible for Enhanced Learning Creditis (ELC), you must have served within the military for a minimum of six years. ELCs will cover 80% of the total course fees up to a maximum of £2,000.  The remaining 20% of the course fee must be covered by your own financial contribution. ELCs can only be used to fund regulated qualifications above Level 3 and must be delivered by an ELCAS approved providers like Bragd.

To apply for ELC funding towards any of the courses we run, you need to complete the relevant ELC Claim Form. The ELC claim form for serving personnel can be found on the ELCAS website here. The ELC claim form for service leavers can be found on the ELCAS website here. We suggest that you submit your clime six to eight weeks before your course starts to allow time for your application to be processed. When you complete the claim form, you will need to quote our ELCAS Provider ID, which is You will also be required to provide our Approved Learning Provider ID which is 11590. Once you have your Claim Authorisation Note (CAN), please email a copy to pam@bragd.co.uk so we can organise your place and confirm your booking.

To find out more about the ELCAS funded courses and qualifications we run, please visit our dedicated ELCAS page. If you have any questions about our ELCAS courses, how we work and more importantly, how we can help military personnel create new careers in civvy street, please call 01173 258 676 or email pam@bragd.co.uk.

The FWDF is a Scottish Government initiative designed to help businesses in Scotland address priority skills gaps and up-skill and re-skill their staff. The FWDF cannot be used for statutory training, but can be used to help Apprenticeship Levy paying employers create training programmes that meet their specific needs. Training can be delivered by both colleges and independent training providers.  Levy paying employers can access up to £15,000 towards training. Bragd are delighted to be part of the FWDF initiative. If you are based in Scotland want help understanding or accessing training via the FWDF, please call 01173 258 676 or email pam@bragd.co.uk.