Lloyds Banking Group to commit £9 million+ to support SME apprenticeships

Lloyds Banking Group is to provide the largest financial commitment across all UK businesses by providing millions of pounds to apprenticeships within SMEs.

The Group will commit 25% of its Apprenticeship Levy Fund from April directly to local small businesses to fund apprenticeships across various sectors to further support the UK economy grow.

From 2019, the Group will transfer to £3 million per year up to 2021 through the Apprenticeship Levy. With the additional funds, businesses across the UK will have the necessary funds to recruit and train apprentices in sectors such as digital, technology and manufacturing.

Michelle Blayney, Chief Culture and Talent Officer, Lloyds Banking Group commented, “We see first-hand the benefits of apprenticeships and are delighted to be able to make this significant commitment which will enable small businesses to embrace the value and potential of apprenticeships. Working with our partners across the UK, this additional funding will enable small businesses to recruit and train apprentices and benefit from the improved productivity and performance that apprentices can offer. We encourage other large organisations to utilise their unspent levy to support small businesses and apprentices in England.”

David Oldfield, Group Director and CEO Commercial Banking, Lloyds Banking Group, added, “Boosting productivity is vital to the UK’s long-term economic success and, for firms of all sizes, having the right skills at hand is an imperative. This productivity initiative is just one of the ways in which we are standing by the side of British SMEs, helping them to unlock their potential by training employees to enable them to remain competitive in the years ahead. The upcoming pilot will help us understand where support is needed most and we look forward to scaling this in the future.”

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