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AMTC-Lloyds deal supports SME apprenticeships
Published:  01 April, 2019

The Coventry-based Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre has partnered with Lloyds Bank to offer financial support to recruit and train manufacturing apprentices.

Lloyds already supports apprenticeship training at the AMTC with £10m of funding over 10 years. Now, it is partnering with the AMTC – based at the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) at Ansty Park – to release millions more in funding through the Apprenticeship Levy Transfer Scheme.

The move will allow small and medium-sized businesses to take on apprentices, fully funded by  the Apprenticeship Levy scheme and Lloyds’ unspent levy, releasing funds to encourage SMEs to take on more apprentices. Lloyds has committed to providing £9m from its Apprenticeship Levy fund, initially in partnership with the AMTC and the West Midlands Combined Authority. SMEs in high-value manufacturing can access the funds to expand their businesses through apprenticeships.

The AMTC already offers employers the chance to use their Apprenticeship Levy to fund engineering apprentices who get training in product design, development and manufacturing.

Apprentices at the AMTC: Lloyds deal will provide millions in extra funding

The AMTC's managing director Paul Rowlett says the new initiative will enable the AMTC “to fully support SME employers with access to funding, enabling them to source and train new apprentices in their businesses… We feel confident that we will see rising demand for new apprenticeship starts over the following months.”

The AMTC is a subsidiary of the MTC, set up in 2014 to address the skills gap in advanced manufacturing.