As many organisations have found, the Government’s 2017 apprenticeships reform through a levy introduction has presented both opportunities and challenges; opportunities to attract new talent and support early careers; while upskilling existing colleagues with the capability to progress their careers or move into new areas of expertise. The challenges can be identifying capability requirements across diverse and contrasting parts of the business, in educating stakeholders on the mechanics of the levy and in fostering co-investment by all involved parties – learning & development, apprentice, manger and provider.
At Aldermore, as part of our apprenticeship strategy we’re embracing the transfer allowance granted to organisations to support charities and SMEs deliver apprenticeships themselves.
Louise Rogerson, Interim Chief People Officer, at Aldermore Group:
“Aldermore has always been focussed on its role within, and contribution to, society as a whole. We have a strong tradition of supporting people and businesses that may not be well-served elsewhere. Therefore, it’s a natural extension of our commitment to social mobility and the levelling up agenda to find creative ways to engage with initiatives like the levy transfer, and provide impactful support to other organisations also doing good work. In backing people within and outside Aldermore, we are living our values on a daily basis and we’re proud of our commitment as a socially responsible business.”
Aldermore has developed a partnership approach and most recently, this involved The Manufacturing Institute (TMI), a non-profit enterprise that’s part of The Growth Company based in Manchester, and Impact Futures, a national training provider.
The TMI provides a key service to the Greater Manchester Combined Authority with their shared platform, ‘The Levy Matchmaking Service’, it brings together gifting and recipient organisations so that levy funds can be directed to where they’re needed most.
Adrian Healey, Programme Lead for The Levy Matchmaking Service said:
“It’s been a pleasure to welcome Aldermore Group to the gifting population who make use of the Greater Manchester Levy Matchmaking Service. I’m thrilled they’ve been able to use the service to support smaller employers in the region with the cost of apprenticeship training, which genuinely makes a difference. It’s been so easy working with the team at Aldermore and we look forward to helping them support even more opportunities in the future.”
As a result of this partnership, £36,000 has been transferred to support the training and development of six colleagues at Rite Directions, a company that offers support and pastoral care for young people aged 8 to 18-years-old through its network of 11 separate care schemes. These colleagues now have the funding to complete their Level 4 Children, Young Peoples & Family Practitioner apprenticeship.
Joe Webster (Business Development Manager) at Rite Directions added:
“The funding from Aldermore has enabled us to provide a vital learning experience (level 4 apprenticeship) for the latest members of our staff team at The Green, a therapeutic home for children and young people who have suffered from severe neglect or abuse. The knowledge and skills gained from the apprenticeship is invaluable for new staff members and supports them in working with our young people to achieve better outcomes.
From our experience staff with this qualification are better at building positive relationships with the young people and are more effective in identifying, understanding and being able to meet their needs. This is crucial in the work we do and aids us in providing a consistent high level of care.
Thank you to everyone at Aldermore who has been involved in this and we look forward to working with you again/updating you in the near future.”
In addition, through our partnership with training provider Impact Futures, £32,000 has been transferred to Acorns Children’s Hospice.
Karl O’Neill, Talent Development Partner at Acorns Children’s Hospice said:
“The kindness shown by Aldermore Group enables our fundraising team to upskill existing team members and work towards a professional qualification, offering a chance for a long and very rewarding career that contributes directly to supporting the work we do at Acorns for children, young people, and families.”
This transfer will fund completion of Level 3 Fundraiser and Business Administration apprenticeships, equipping colleagues with the knowledge and skills to support the fantastic work Acorns Children’s Hospice do with our communities.
**Ends**
Acorns Children's Hospice in the West Midlands | UK Children's Charity
Impact Futures – Supporting Your Future
Services, young peoples services, young peoples services (ritedirections.co.uk)
The Growth Company - Employment (gcemployment.uk)
Home - The Manufacturing InstituteThe Manufacturing Institute
For further information, journalists can contact our PR Team.
For further information about Aldermore, please review our Notes to Editors page.
Follow us on Twitter: @AldermoreNews