Funding boost for small firm apprentices

A NEW pledge from the University of Portsmouth has boosted a fund for apprentices in the Solent region to more than £2m.

The university is the latest organisation to join a growing list of supporters of the Solent Apprenticeship and Skills Hub’s ‘Transfer to Transform’ initiative, which encourages large employers to pledge their unspent apprenticeship levy funds to cover the costs of apprenticeship training for smaller businesses.

The university has pledged £150,000 of its unused apprentice ship levy funds to the initiative to boost the region’ s SMEs and apprentices.

Bernie Topham, chief operating officer and deputy vice chancellor of the University of Portsmouth, said: ‘Raising the skill levels of their employees is critical for businesses, including SMEs, who may struggle to access the funds they need to support apprenticeships.

‘The Transfer to Transform scheme is a great way for us to positively use our unspent apprenticeship levy to benefit the growth of SMEs in our region and provide opportunities to train more apprentices.’

More than £1.5m of the £2.25 mr a is ed has already been distributed to SM Es across the Solent region.

Jodi Fair, manager of the Apprenticeship & Skills Partnership, added: ‘The Solent Apprentice ship and Skills Hub have had a strong working relationship with the University of Portsmouth, so we are thrilled to welcome them on board as a pledger to Transfer to Transform. We are always trying to support new SM Es from across the Solent with funding their apprenticeships, so to receive another big pledge from a local levy payer ensures we can continue to do so.’