University of Portsmouth boosts fund for apprentices in small businesses across the Solent region

A new pledge from the University of Portsmouth has boosted a fund for apprentices in the Solent region to more than £2m.
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The university is the latest organisation to join a growing list of supporters of the Solent Apprenticeship and Skills Hub’s ‘Transfer to Transform’ initiative, which encourages large employers to pledge their unspent apprenticeship levy funds to cover the costs of apprenticeship training for smaller businesses.

The university has pledged £150,000 of its unused apprenticeship levy funds to the initiative to boost the region’s SMEs and apprentices.

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Bernie Topham, chief operating officer and deputy vice chancellor of the University of Portsmouth, said: ‘Raising the skill levels of their employees is critical for businesses, including SMEs, who may struggle to access the funds they need to support apprenticeships.

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‘The Transfer to Transform scheme is a great way for us to positively use our unspent apprenticeship levy to benefit the growth of SME’s in our region and provide opportunities to train more apprentices.’

More than £1.5m of the £2.25m raised has already been distributed to SMEs across the Solent region.

Jodi Fair, manager of the Apprenticeship & Skills Partnership: ‘The Solent Apprenticeship and Skills Hub have had a strong working relationship with the University of Portsmouth since the project's inception, so we are thrilled to welcome them on board as a pledger to Transfer to Transform. We are always trying to support new SME’s from across the Solent with funding their apprenticeships, so to receive another big pledge from a local levy payer ensures we can continue to do so!’

Businesses interested in finding out more should visit the Transfer to Transform webpage at theapprenticeshiphub.com/transfer-to-transform.

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