• get in touch with employers in your industry
• speak with Aspiration Training to discuss potential employers
• work with regional partners
• work with employers in your supply chain

What transfers can pay for

Transferred funds will be used to pay for the training and assessment cost of the apprenticeships agreed with the receiving employer.

Sending and receiving employers need to know that:

• funds are paid monthly for the duration of the apprenticeship
• only levy-paying employers can make a transfer
• any employer can receive and use transferred funds
• sending and receiving employers have to be registered on the Apprenticeship service
• a transfer can only be used to pay for training and assessment for apprenticeship standards
• transfers can only be used for new starts

What you need to do to start a transfer

The sending employer and the receiving employer need to first agree the details of the transfer of funds; for example, which apprenticeship standard, how many apprentices, the cost.

Once both employers are registered Aspiration Training will assist both employers with the following:

• connect each other’s accounts
• receiving employer to add the apprentice details
• confirm the transfer

Employers who are transferring funds

Before you make a transfer from your apprenticeship account, make sure that you:

• have enough funds to transfer to another employer
• have a clear understanding of the forecasted cost to you, which will cover the duration of the apprenticeship you’ve agreed to fund through a transfer
• understand you will be funding the total cost of their apprenticeship and not just the 5% co-investment
• agree with the employer who is receiving the transfer, details of the apprenticeships you’re funding
• are aware of the funding rules around transferring apprenticeship funds

Employers who want to receive a transfer

If you want to receive a transfer from another employer you must be aware of the following:

• you can only use the transferred funds for apprenticeship training and assessment
• transferred funds can only be used for apprenticeship standards
• you’ll need to create an account on the apprenticeship service to receive the transfer and pay for apprenticeship training
• you’ll need to sign an agreement with the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA)
• transfer payments will be made monthly from the sending employer to your apprenticeship account
• you won’t have to pay any funds back to the sending employer
• if the employer sending you funds runs out of funds, you must make a 5% contribution to the cost of apprenticeship training and the government will pay the remaining 95% (this is called co-investment)
• a transfer can fund up to the funding band maximum of a standard, if the cost of training is more, you’ll have to pay the difference to the training provider
• if a training provider transfers funds to you, they cannot deliver the training for that funded apprenticeship
• funding rules around transferring apprenticeship funds

State aid

10% of all the funds you receive as a transfer from another employer count as state aid.

A percentage of all the funds you receive as a transfer may be considered as state aid. This represents the amount of co-investment you would otherwise have had to contribute towards the apprenticeship, if funds had not been transferred.

For all starts funded through a transfer before 1 April 2019, 10% of all the funds you receive may be considered as state aid. For starts funded through a transfer on or after 1 April 2019, only 5% may count. This is because the co-investment rate is reducing from 10% to 5% for all new starts from 1 April 2019.

Before accepting a transfer, employers should check how much state aid they’ve already received in any 3 year period, so they don’t go over the limit they’re allowed under ‘de minimis’ funding rules – see guidance on ‘de minimis’ support. The limit an organisation is allowed to receive as state aid is €200,000 in any rolling 3-year period.

So that you do not go over the allowed limit of €200,000 for state aid in any 3 year period, you should check:

• how much state aid you’ve already received
• if you’re part of a connected organisation, how much combined total state aid you have received