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Finance is a great way to spread the cost of your purchase. To make it easy we’ve teamed up with Deko whose technology lets you apply for and complete a loan application quickly, easily and informatively.
Frequently Asked Questions about 19+ Advanced Learner Loans
Can I afford to pay the loan back?
Repayments start the April after you complete or withdraw from your course. You pay back your loan (plus interest) when you finish your course and earn more than £25,725 a year. Your repayments will stop if your income drops below £25,725 a year. Your annual repayment amount will be 9% of any income you earn over £25,725.
Example
Your monthly repayments would be:
£9 a month – if you earned £27,000 a year
£32 a month – if you earned £30,000 a year
I want to go on to university. I can’t pay back two loans?
If you go on to higher education, any government loans you take out will be combined with your Advanced Learner Loan. Your repayments won’t change.
If something happens and I can’t finish my course, will I end up paying for it anyway?
Payments for your Advanced Learner Loan will be made to Acacia once you have been on programme for more than 2 weeks. If you leave after this point, you will pay back any loan payments that have already been made, these will be based on the length of time you were on programme and teaching that has taken place.
Apprenticeship Funding
Currently there are 2 ways in which apprenticeships are funded to see how this affects you as an employer we have provided some information below. As an employer you will need to register on the Digital Apprenticeship Service. If you would like further information and assistance get in touch here.
The Apprenticeship Levy explained
What is the Apprenticeship Levy?
In April 2017 the government implemented a new Apprenticeship Levy on large employers, to fund new apprenticeships. UK based employers with a salary bill of over 3 million are required to invest in apprenticeships.
How does the Apprenticeship Levy it work?
Employers will pay a levy which is expected to be 0.5 per cent of your pay bill. This will be paid into a central fund where you’ll access vouchers to fund the training of your own apprentices. You’ll receive an allowance of £15,000 to offset against your levy payment.
Why was the Apprenticeship Levy introduced?
Why Apprenticeships matter?
Apprenticeships are beneficial to employers for many reasons such as:
• Increasing employee satisfaction
• Increasing staff loyalty
• Reducing recruitment costs
• Better serving your customers
• Being a leader in the cultivating the next generation of workers.
Changes for employers who don’t pay the levy
What support do we get with apprenticeship costs?
Non-levy paying employers will share the cost of training and assessing their apprentices with government – this is called ‘co-investment’.
The co-investment rate has changed for new apprenticeships starting on or after 1 April 2019. You will now pay 5% towards the cost of apprenticeship training. The government will pay the rest (95%) up to the funding band maximum.
All apprenticeships that started before 1 April 2019 will continue at the previous co-investment rate of 10%.
What does the Apprenticeship Levy mean for you?
I have… less than 50 employees and a salary bill of under £3 million
If you have less than 50 employees and a salary bill of under £3 million then you will receive fully funded free training. To add to this, funding is also available to train up existing staff or recruit apprentices. There is also a £1,000 cash incentive for recruiting an apprentice aged between 16-18.
I have…over 50 employees and a salary bill of under £3 million
If you have over 50 employees and a salary bill of under £3 million then you will be expected to contribute 10% of total training costs (monthly installments). There is also funding available to train up existing staff or recruit apprentices. Additionally, there is a £1,000 cash incentive for recruiting an apprentice aged between 16-18.
I have…a salary bill of over £3 million
If you have a salary bill of over £3 million you will be expected to contribute 0.5% of your annual salary bill into the Apprenticeship Levy. This will allow you to train existing staff or recruit apprentices using funds that will be located in your digital account. After 18 months these funds will expire. You will get out more than you put into the apprenticeship levy as for every £1 that you put into your digital account you get £1.10 to spend.
Employer support for the Digital Account Service (DAS)
Do I need to use the Digital Apprenticeship Service for my apprenticeships?
Yes, from 1st April 2021, all new apprenticeships will be managed and funded using the apprenticeship service. All employers hiring apprentices will need to have an apprenticeship service account in order to access funding.
Are there any additional resources to support setting up my Apprenticeship Service account?
The ESFA has a dedicated YouTube playlist ‘Using the Apprenticeship Service’ which provides a collection of simple, how-to videos.
‘apprenticeships.gov.uk’ contains all the answers to questions frequently asked by potential apprentices and employers.
The ESFA also has a range of ‘help articles’ that provide straightforward advice on how to use the apprenticeship service. They’re great to share with employers and can help you to navigate any known issues too.