We are pleased to be able to support local businesses to grow and prosper using our Apprenticeship Levy funds. We are making the maximum 25% of our levy funds available through the ‘pledge’ system for businesses based in Exeter to access. This means that businesses will be able to access funding to pay for the training and assessment of apprentices within their business.

To ensure that our funding is used to support our local businesses and economy, we have set out some criteria for the businesses we will support with a levy transfer, these are as follows:

• Must be based or have its headquarters within the Exeter City council boundary, or at Exeter Science Park,
• The apprentice that will be funded by the transfer must be based within the Exeter City Council boundary (if the employer has multiple sites),
• The employer must be a small to medium sized enterprise (less than 250 employees),
• Must not be subject to winding up or any other order,
• Priority will be given to the following sectors (but this does not mean that others are excluded):
  • Health and Social Care
  • Retail
  • Digital / Tech
  • Construction
• The employer must be able to demonstrate a successful track record in recruiting apprentices that successfully complete their apprenticeship,
• They must be recruiting a new employee in to their business as an apprentice (i.e. not funding an existing member of staff),
• Priority will be given to level 2 and 3 apprenticeships, although higher levels will be considered, 
• The use of a local training provider is preferred, unless the required training is not offered by a local provider,
• Applications are welcomed from the voluntary sector,
• Businesses will be encouraged to consider their recruitment to support groups with protected characteristics who may be under-represented in their sector and apprenticeships as a whole.

You can apply for funding through our ‘pledge’ via the Government Apprenticeship Service – you must have an Apprenticeship Service Account.

When completing the online application form, please give us as much information as possible in Section 3 – ‘About Your Apprenticeship’ to help us understand how you meet the criteria.

Please note that we may also contact you for more information as part of our due diligence checks.

For support to access the funding available, talk to your training provider, or Contact Us and we will support you with the process.

For more information about Apprenticeships see How to take on an apprentice.