The levy, which came into effect 06 April 2017, requires all organisations with a wage bill of over £3 million to invest in apprenticeship training programmes. While the levy controls the minimum amount an organisation must contribute towards apprenticeships, the new scheme was created to give employers more control over designing, choosing, and paying for training.

It follows a government pledge for three million new apprentices by the year 2020, improving the workforce's skill base and boosting economic productivity. This means organisations should see apprenticeships as an investment in their future, rather than simply another tax.

The levy, which must be spent within two years, is designed to fund an apprentice's training and not fund wages or other expenses. The scheme provides organisations with the opportunity to plug both current and future skill gaps through investment in new recruits and existing employees.

As a dedicated training provider, MicroLearn offers an extensive off-the-shelf catalogue featuring nearly 100 compliance and soft-skills titles that have been mapped against a range of standards to support an apprentice's training programme.

Most recently, the content has been closely aligned with the Customer Service Practitioner Level 2 Apprenticeship. Meeting over 80% of the criteria, the MicroLearn content complements the learning outcomes and behaviours outlined in the assessment plan.

The off-the-shelf range, consisting of a variety of responsive formats to suit individual learners, is already being used by a number of apprenticeship-training providers to support the 20% of off-the-job training that all apprentices are required to complete.