Sheffield Hallam University has pledged to contribute over £200,000 to a new regional scheme which will provide significant support to apprenticeships in South Yorkshire

Press contact: Neil Stanwix |  n.stanwix@shu.ac.uk

The Apprenticeship Levy Matchmaking Service, which is being led by the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA), allows large employers to pool unspent apprenticeship levy funding so that it can be accessed by smaller regional businesses rather than being reclaimed by central government.

The University has pledged an initial contribution of over £200,000, the largest of any regional organisation. 

Apprenticeships funded by Sheffield Hallam through the matchmaking service will be focused on the voluntary and early years sectors, priority areas which have been identified through close collaboration with local leaders. 

Greg Burke, Director of Place and Civic Engagement at Sheffield Hallam University, said: “At Sheffield Hallam, we have strong civic values and are committed to supporting businesses and our regional economy. Apprenticeships play an incredibly important role in upskilling and – at a time when investment into South Yorkshire is beginning to boom – training and skills are key. This initiative will enable local people to access transformational opportunities, and attract new talent from across the UK to help grow South Yorkshire’s economy.”

Professor Sally Pearse, Director of the Early Years Community Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University, said: “The early years sector plays a vital role in supporting families and giving young children a firm foundation to build upon. Having a strong and diverse pool of highly trained and skilled staff has an enormous impact on children’s lives.  Providers in the sector face a number of financial and recruitment challenges, but this initiative will help to ease the cost of training new staff, and build a talented workforce for the future.”

South Yorkshire Mayor, Oliver Coppard, said: “South Yorkshire doesn’t just need a bigger economy, we need a better economy. But if we’re going to get there, and if everyone is going to be able to access the jobs and opportunities that the new economy will bring, we need to make sure people have the right educational skills, so they can access opportunity wherever it might be.

“That’s what our new Apprenticeship Hub is all about; offering people, organisations and businesses a ‘one-stop shop’ for all the information and support they need to get the right skills, in the right place, so we can all benefit from more jobs.”

The Apprenticeship Levy was launched in 2017 and requires large employers to earmark funding for apprenticeships.  The matchmaking service will ensure that unused funding is made available to smaller businesses and organisations in the region, giving them the opportunity to take on apprentices with no training costs.

The Apprentice Levy Matchmaking Service was launched alongside the new South Yorkshire Apprenticeship Hub (with which Sheffield Hallam is involved as a provider of degree apprentices) on 5 December 2023.  SYMCA‘s first ambition is to bring 300 new high-quality apprenticeships to the region by June 2025.

The first company pledging money towards a new scheme to bring high quality apprenticeships to South Yorkshire has been announced. Aviva will pledge a total of £100k to the new Apprenticeship Levy Matchmaking Service launched by South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and the South Yorkshire Apprenticeship Hub. The money will help fully fund training costs for four apprentices as they start their training as Level 3 Early Years Educators and Level 5 Early Years Practitioners from early 2024.

The Apprenticeship Levy Matchmaking Service is a new scheme in the region which provides smaller businesses with access to additional apprenticeship funding. As part of this, larger employers pledge funding to support other businesses who would benefit from apprenticeships through unspent Apprenticeship Levy funds. Smaller businesses can then apply for this money and if successful will no longer pay the 5% costs towards the training of apprentices.

Explaining the new service Khalil Kirkwood, Senior Development Manager at SYMCA, said: “Large employers, who are currently paying the Apprenticeship Levy, can pledge their unspent allocation into a pot that smaller businesses can then apply for.

“Smaller businesses, if successful with their application, will have the opportunity to upskill their workforce or expand their team through the apprenticeship funding that has been pledged by larger companies.

“Being able to offer this innovative approach to address collective skills shortages in South Yorkshire is just one of the strategies we are looking at to improve the lives of our residents.”

The Apprentice Levy Matchmaking Service was launched alongside the new South Yorkshire Apprenticeship Hub on 5 December. The initial ambition is to bring 300 new high-quality apprenticeships to the region by June 2025.

South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard, said: “South Yorkshire doesn’t just need a bigger economy, we need a better economy. But if we’re going to get there, and if everyone is going to be able to access the jobs and opportunities that the new economy will bring, we need to make sure people have the right educational skills, so they can access opportunity wherever it might be.

“That’s what our new Apprenticeship Hub is all about; offering people, organisations and businesses a ‘one-stop shop’ for all the information and support they need to get the right skills, in the right place, so we can all benefit from more jobs.”

Danny Harmer, Aviva’s Chief People Officer, said: “Apprenticeships create meaningful opportunities for people to develop their careers, at any stage and age. Gifting some of our Apprenticeship Levy means Aviva can support businesses in South Yorkshire to create the skills they need for the future – which can only be good news for our communities.”

To find out more about South Yorkshire Apprenticeship Hub visit https://www.southyorkshireapprenticeships.org/

For more information about the South Yorkshire Apprenticeship Levy Matchmaking Service visit www.levymatch.southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk/

Editors’ notes

The Apprenticeship Levy is an amount paid at a rate of 0.5% of an employer’s annual pay bill. Typically employers pay the levy if their annual pay bill is more than £3 million.

About South Yorkshire Apprenticeship Hub – South Yorkshire Apprenticeship Hub was launched by South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard in December 2023. The Hub aims to create better quality and a higher number of apprenticeships start-ups in the region

It acts as a one-stop shop for businesses, apprentices, and anyone hoping to start an apprenticeship by providing a range of services:

• Information, advice and guidance services to apprentices, parents, and employers
• Help for businesses (SMEs in particular) to access technical talent across the region to tackle skills shortages
• Progression pathways and opportunities into and out of high-quality Level 2 and 3 apprenticeships
• Helping support the development of a public sector approach to apprenticeships, including flexi-job apprenticeships.

Media contacts

For media enquiries, please contact press.enquiries@southyorkshire-ca.gov.uk and joe.booth@aviva.com