Commenting on today’s Government announcement that large employers will be able to transfer up to 10% of their apprenticeship levy funds to multiple businesses, a move aimed at increasing the number of apprenticeships nationwide, UKHospitality CEO, Kate Nicholls, said “This is a step in the right direction to providing more flexibility in the levy. As a sector, we are the third largest private sector employer but we face huge challenges in labour and skills shortages in an industry with so much to offer in terms of reward and career progression.
“We welcome today’s news but will continue to call for further changes to ensure that the levy can achieve optimal effectiveness. More flexibility in how the levy can be spent would help to improve the return for employer and employee alike. A good starting point would be enabling larger employers to use the levy for apprenticeship-related costs and for unspent levy funds to be spent helping SMEs to employ and develop apprentices.”