As I’m sitting here writing this article, it’s cloudy and wet outside and has been all week, as we have a yellow weather warning for the East Midlands that will continue into the weekend. However, when it’s gorgeous outside and I’m either in the office or working from my dining table at home, the last thing I want to do is remain cooped up inside and so will procrastinate over the work at hand.

This is the eleventh article in our 18 part series on the Apprenticeship Levy. With each post, we’re trying to increase employers’ understanding of the Levy - how they can use it and how it can benefit their business. We’ve been on quite a journey over the past 10 articles, covering everything from eligibility and access, to how the funds can be spent and what can be achieved. While we may have touched on a few of the benefits in previous posts, now feels like a good time to review the key benefits of the Apprenticeship Levy and why it should be on your business’ radar.

Economists regard productivity gains as the most important driver of rising living standards over the long term. However there are ongoing fears that Brexit will be sapping the strength of the UK economy over the next decade. A key measure of growth in the economy is 'output per hour of work' and this slumped in 2018 according to the figures, as the UK managed only a quarter of the rate of productivity growth seen before the financial crisis.

Here's a recording of our recent webinar 'Marketing research and audience profiles'. We hope you find it useful.

Here's a recording of our recent webinar 'Making Marketing Measurable' with Simon and Oliver. We hope you find it useful.

Welcome to article number 10 in our eighteen part series on the Apprenticeship Levy. Our goal with this series is to help employers make the most of the levy fund, including how to assess your eligibility, how to access the funds and where to spend them. In previous articles we’ve gone into some detail on how the levy works and how the funds are raised. We’ve discussed which businesses are required to contribute and how smaller businesses can gain funding to train both new and existing staff. In this post, we’re going to look at which courses are available through the Apprenticeship Levy so you can decide whether or not it might be a good fit for your business.

Welcome to the ninth article in our 18 part series on the Apprenticeship Levy. In this series, we’re exploring everything there is to know about the levy in order to help businesses make the most of it. So far, we’ve examined what the levy is and how the funds are raised, and even gone into detail about how to set up a digital account and start using whatever funds you’re entitled to. In this article we’ll be focusing on one very simple idea - what does the levy allow your business to do?

This is the eighth article in our 18 part series on the Apprenticeship Levy. The UK Government launched the levy programme back in 2016 in a bid to create 3 million new apprenticeships by the year 2020. It’s a fantastic way for employers to fund apprenticeships and grow their teams, but many firms are still a little unclear on what the levy is, how it works or how it can benefit them. That’s why we’ve put this series of articles together. In recent articles, we’ve talked about who is eligible to contribute, how you can access funds and whether or not the levy can be used to fund in-house training programmes. This time we’re talking about the expiration of levy funds and whether your business needs to be concerned.

Welcome to the seventh article in our 18 part series on the Apprenticeship Levy. The levy is a new initiative from the Government that aims to create 3 million new apprenticeships by 2020. In recent articles, we’ve talked about who is eligible to contribute to the levy, how smaller businesses can access funds, and how to setup your online portal and start spending money on courses. This time we’re going to be focusing on whether or not it’s possible for you as a business to use levy funds to develop your own learning and development programmes.

Many people dream of owning and running their own business, being their own boss, not being beholden to the whims and fancies of other people or an other organisation generally. Many people never actually take the step and make the dream a reality, whilst others, you just cannot hold back.