Weston College has set up an advice service for employers to help guide them through the new apprenticeship levy, due to be introduced in April 2017.

Last Friday (12th August) the government published proposals for a new funding model for apprenticeships and further details on the apprenticeship levy. The funding will support people of all ages to gain high-quality skills and experience and help employers to offer more training opportunities and build a skilled workforce.

The key points are:

• The start date for accessing the new funding system will be 1st May 2017
• The system applies to both levy and non-levy paying employers
• Starts prior to 1st May will be funded for the duration of the apprenticeship under current funding terms and conditions in place at start of programme
• Non-levy paying employers will not use the Digital Apprenticeship Service (DAS) until at least 2018
• 15 funding bands have been proposed, with the upper limit of these bands ranging from £1,500 to £27,000. All existing and new apprenticeship frameworks and standards will be placed within one of these funding bands
• Co-investment is a requirement of the new system for non-levy paying employers or employers who have used up their levy and it is proposed that employers co-invest 5 per cent of the costs, with government paying the remaining 95 per cent
• For employers with less than 50 employees it is proposed to waive the co-investment element if these employers take on a 16 to 18-year-old apprentice
• English and maths functional skills funding will not require an employer contribution nor will it be taken from levy paying employer’s accounts; it will continue to be paid directly to the provider
• Re-training – it is proposed that eligible learners will be able to undertake apprenticeships at a lower level than their current education level ‘to acquire substantive new skills’.

The levy was first introduced in the 2015 autumn statement and in response to a number of enquiries Weston College has set up a Levy Solution Service.

Liz Redwood, Executive Director of Apprenticeships and Commercial Strategy, said: “Weston College is able to support you through this process whether you are a levy paying employer or non-levy paying employer.

“We can help you begin to plan how to make the most of the new system, so please contact the Apprenticeships Team on 01934 411 594 or email us on business.enterprise.centre@weston.ac.uk to book a free advice and guidance session."

University Centre Weston (UCW) students approve of how the institution delivers higher education, according to the results of this year’s National Student Survey.

Students awarded UCW a score of 88 per cent in the category of ‘overall satisfaction’; above the average of 86 per cent for all of the university-level education providers in Britain.

The figure represents the third year in a row that UCW, which delivers its degrees in partnership with Bath Spa University and UWE Bristol, has improved its score in this key benchmark.

UCW is also in the top 25 per cent of higher education institutions in Britain for its ratings in the categories of ‘assessment and feedback’, ‘academic support’ and ‘personal development’.

Its Applied Computing, Business with Management, Early Years, Music Production and Musical Theatre foundation degrees received overall satisfaction scores of 100 per cent.

UCW student Becca Arlington, pictured, said: “I am not surprised that University Centre Weston's National Student Survey results are so high as I have loved my time here and have seen UCW go from strength to strength.
“The ethos of constant enhancement has been evident throughout my three years of study, and I am certainly very proud to have been a part of this phase of growth at UCW.” 

More than 300,000 final-year UK undergraduates responded to this year’s National Student Survey, which is conducted by independent research company Ipsos MORI.

UCW still has a limited number of places available on its more than 35 foundation and top-up degrees starting this September.

A University Centre Weston (UCW) student will graduate this weekend despite having suffered from throat cancer for much of the academic year.

John Byrne kept up with his studies while receiving treatment for the disease and has now earned a BSc (Hons) degree in Counselling.

Along with more than 500 other UCW graduates, he will receive his degree at a ceremony at the Conference Centre in Weston on Saturday (24th September).  

The 51-year-old was diagnosed with cancer in November and immediately underwent chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and complications made him so unwell that he was put on a life support machine for ten days.

Thankfully, John is now well on the road to recovery having been in remission since March.

He said: “I was doing my reading for the course and working on a laptop in hospital because I didn’t want the cancer to take my degree away from me.

“At times it seemed like an impossible task, but I received so much support from my family and friends and everyone at UCW that I was determined to keep going.

“I’m so pleased that I will be able to graduate as planned with everyone else on my course.”

John was unable to attend lectures due to stays in the Bristol Royal Infirmary, Weston General Hospital and Musgrove Park Hospital in Taunton.

So his lecturers on the degree, which is delivered in partnership with Bath Spa University, provided course materials and feedback to help him persevere.

UCW Counselling lecturer Barbara Feldtkeller said: “John has been such an inspiration to the tutor team at UCW and his peers on the course, I hope he has a really enjoyable and memorable day on Saturday.

“His diagnosis a few weeks into the beginning of the programme came as a shock to all of us, but he was determined to carry on, so we just kept supporting him.”

John, who grew up in London, earned further education qualifications from Weston College before enrolling on a two-year higher education Foundation Degree with UCW in 2013.

He now plans to study for a Master’s degree in Counselling after completing the one-year top-up to earn full Honours.

24% of UCW students graduating with full Honours have earned First Class degrees, and the overall pass rate is 94%.

Of the students on the BSc (Hons) Applied Computing course, which is delivered in partnership with UWE Bristol, 47% will graduate with First Class Honours.