One of the leading providers of apprenticeships for construction and utility firms has reacted with concern to news that two thirds of companies are failing to take up the Apprenticeship Levy offer. Comment from Chris Wood, CEO of Develop Training Ltd (DTL).

A two-year time limit on accessing funding, firms were facing a ticking time bomb after which the money they paid into the levy would be lost to the taxman. He was responding to a survey by West London College that found only 32 per cent of employers who qualify have used the funding.

Mr Wood said: “At a time when the country is suffering from serious skills shortages, it is worrying that businesses are missing out on an opportunity to train new and existing staff.” He pointed out that firms with a £3 million pay bill and above are legally required to pay into the levy via the PAYE scheme: “If they do not access funds to train people, they are choosing to be taxed instead.”

Mr Wood highlighted the two-year time limit within which firms have to use their Levy funding. “There is evidence that employers don’t fully understand the Levy, so while some may have weighed up the pros and cons before making a decision, it’s likely that others will be out of pocket because they didn’t get to grips with it early enough,” said Mr Wood. “They really need to get help to navigate their way through the options because this is a ticking time bomb.” The government and the construction, utility and energy sector need to do more to address the sector’s chronic skills gap”. www.developtraining.co.uk