Issue - meetings

To receive a briefing paper from the HR Manager regarding the Apprenticeship Levy.

The Group had before it, and NOTED, a briefing paper * from the HR Group Manager providing an overview of the Apprenticeship Levy. The Director of Corporate Affairs and Business Transformation explained that as from April 2017 the way the Government funded apprenticeships in England were changing. Employers with a pay bill over £3 million were expected to pay 0.5% of their pay bill towards a new ‘Apprenticeship Levy’ to be spent purely on apprenticeship standards to increase skills within the workplace. For Mid Devon District Council this meant that the amount it had to pay would be approximately £50k per year. The Council had 24 months to spend the money otherwise it would be returned to central Government.

It was further explained that the amount of money the Council had to pay might go up simply because it employed more apprentices. It did mean that the pot of money could be used for additional staff development as it was not age related. The Council was working with Petroc on this and the scheme was still very much in the early stages.

Discussion took place regarding:

·         Apprentices were able to gain a qualification such as a BTEC at the end of their apprenticeship.

·         Often apprentices were able to apply for positions within the Council at the end of their placements.

·         Many businesses considered having an apprentice as the norm.

·         Mid Devon District Council apprentices had been asked for their views on how to attract younger people to work for the organisation.

Note: * Briefing paper previously circulated, copy attached to the signed minutes.