Employers with an annual wage bill of less than £3m do not pay the apprenticeship levy. If you are not a levy payer or you have already spent your levy funds, then you have two choices:

  1. Pay 5% of the apprenticeship fee. The current tariff for the Software Developer apprenticeship is £18,000, so the total cost to a non-levy payer would be £900.
  2. Apply for a levy transfer. We have partnered with the London Progression Collaboration to provide these. If you wish to request a levy transfer, please let us know.

Once a donor has been identified, you can follow the steps below to add apprentices to your account.

For more detailed instructions, there are links below to videos from the ESFA and a very helpful how to guide from our partners at London Progression Collaboration.

Add apprentices with a levy donation

Once a connection request has been sent by a levy donor, you can follow the two videos below or we can step you through the process.

Here are the relevant steps:

  1. Login to https://accounts.manage-apprenticeships.service.gov.uk/
  2. Select Finance > Transfers;
  3. Sign the ESFA agreement;
  4. Under What's next, select "Go to Transfers" and "Continue";
  5. Approve the connection request;
  6. Select "Start adding apprentices" and "Continue";

You can now add an apprentice by:

  1. Following Step 6 above or from your Home page, select Apprentices > Add an apprentice;
  2. Select "Yes, I will use transfer funds from <name of donor>";
  3. Follow the steps up to "Start adding apprentices";
  4. Select "I would like my provider to add apprentices" unless you want to add the details yourself;
  5. If you choose to select "I will add apprentices" then when you have finished you can "Approve and send to training provider" for us to complete any missing details.