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

Oliver Simpson
Recent posts by Oliver Simpson
1 min read
Marketing research & audience profiles
By Oliver Simpson on 14 June 2019
1 min read
Making Marketing Measurable Webinar | Ascento
By Oliver Simpson on 14 June 2019
Here's a recording of our recent webinar 'Making Marketing Measurable' with Simon and Oliver. We hope you find it useful.
Topics: Leadership & Management
2 min read
What courses are available through the Apprenticeship Levy?
By Oliver Simpson on 14 June 2019
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.
Topics: Apprenticeship Levy
3 min read
What will the Apprenticeship Levy allow you to do?
By Oliver Simpson on 07 June 2019
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?
Topics: Apprenticeship Levy
3 min read
When do your Apprenticeship Levy funds expire?
By Oliver Simpson on 31 May 2019
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.
Topics: Apprenticeship Levy
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Funding Learning and Development With the Apprenticeship Levy
By Oliver Simpson on 24 May 2019
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.
Topics: Apprenticeship Levy
3 min read
How to use the Apprenticeship Levy strategically
By Oliver Simpson on 18 March 2019
This is the sixth article in our 18 piece series on the Apprenticeship Levy. The one thing you should never do with apprenticeships is invest in them for the sake of just making sure that your levy pot is spent. As with any kind of business investment there should always be a clear business need in the first place, with a demonstrable method for ensuring a return on investment.
Topics: Apprenticeship Levy
3 min read
The Apprenticeship Levy Digital Account
By Oliver Simpson on 08 March 2019
This is the fifth article in our 18 part series on the Apprenticeship Levy. Along the way, we’ve learned what the Apprenticeship Levy is, who’s eligible to contribute and use the levy, and what levy funds can be spent on. In our last piece, we confirmed that levy funds can be used for both new and existing employees, but must be spent on approved apprentice courses through the Digital Apprenticeship Service (DAS) portal. This piece will be a direct continuation and go into more detail about DAS. Read on to learn how to create a DAS account, how to use it, and how to spend your valuable funds.
Topics: Apprenticeship Levy
3 min read
What can the Apprenticeship Levy be spent on?
By Oliver Simpson on 01 March 2019
This is the fourth article in our 18 piece series on the Apprenticeship Levy. So far, we’ve explored what the Apprenticeship Levy is, who’s eligible for contributions and who has access to the funds. In this piece, we’re going to be expanding on the last point and asking how Apprenticeship Levy funds can be spent. Can they be used to pay wages or cover travel costs? Can they be used to set up an apprenticeship programme or fund apprentices from existing programmes? These are all common questions, so let’s break things down.
Topics: Apprenticeship Levy
3 min read
How to calculate the Apprenticeship Levy
By Oliver Simpson on 22 February 2019
This is the third article in our 18 part series on the Apprenticeship Levy. In our last post, we talked about whether or not it’s okay to use levy funds to train existing staff and what processes are involved.
This time, we’re turning our focus to the fund itself and how it’s generated. If you're eligible to pay into the levy, how is your contribution calculated? And how much of the fund will your business have access to? If you’re not paying into the fund you may still have access to levy funds, but how does that work?