Apprenticeships and the New Social Value Model

The Public Policy Note 002 Social Value Model, published in February 2025, sets out eight social value outcomes and criteria that public sector organisations can use in their procurement.

In scope organisations are already using this framework and it will be mandatory from 1 October 2025.

Outcomes 1 and 2 in the new Social Value Model include the delivery of apprenticeships as a measure to create high quality jobs, support growth sectors and address skills gaps. Outcomes 6 and 7 include the use of apprenticeships to address barriers to employment and opportunity.

There are apprenticeships for almost every role and level today, not only the traditional engineers, builders and hair dressers but ranging from bid and proposal co-ordinator or comms assistant, through sales and marketing to degree-level service designer. Apprenticeships don’t have to be new starters either. They can be used to develop the skills of your existing team.

Apprenticeship training is free to larger organisations and at a 95% discount to smaller companies. The business must set aside a minimum of six hours per week study time for formal seminar sessions and learning activities. 86% of employers said apprenticeships helped them develop skills relevant to their organisation. Apprenticeships also support diversity. There is extra funding from the Government to train neuro diverse apprentices and those with physical disabilities. According to the government over 20 years the proportion of people of black, Asian and mixed ethnicity apprentices has trebled. People of black and mixed race heritage are apprentices at double their proportion in the population as a whole.

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Two ways apprenticeships can help your social value score in public procurement.

Commit to apprenticeships that contribute towards skills development related to the contract

Identify the required skills for the contract. Can you use apprenticeships to develop a more highly skilled workforce?

Think about how you can support diversity and equality by offering higher level apprenticeships to members of your existing workforce who may not otherwise have an opportunity to progress.

The HR/L&D functions of many large organisations are only too pleased to receive creative ideas from functional teams about ways to spend the levy – if it isn’t spent then it is lost to the company and at present, HM Treasury is holding nearly £800 million of unspent levy funds!

Use your apprenticeship levy funding to support smaller organisations

The Levy can be drawn down to pay for your company’s apprenticeship training. Alternatively up to 50% of your company’s Levy funds can be transferred to support other businesses and charities to pay for their apprenticeship training and assessment. This will enable you to support businesses in a specific geographic area, sector where skills development is needed or provide opportunities to promote economic equality. Think creatively about what your firm can do to use this to satisfy the requirements of the social value model and strengthen your tenders.

Examples include:

  • Transfer to fund a small organisation or social enterprise in your supply chain or locale, to support their growth (contributes to Outcome 3 in the Government’s Social Value Model).

  • Transfer to remedy skills shortages for those who face barriers to employment in high growth sectors (contributing to Outcome 6 and 7 in the Social Value Model).

Things to remember

Make sure you will have sufficient levy funds in future financial years to pay for the apprenticeship(s) over the course of the duration, as this can be more than 12 months – be aware though, most employers underspend their levy, so your HR team will love you!

Your transferred funding can only be used to pay for apprenticeship training and assessment, it does not cover salary, but there are some other benefits such as reductions in employers National Insurance Contributions.

You can find details of how to transfer your apprenticeship levy funds on the Gov.uk website Transferring your apprenticeship levy to another business. Many parts of the country have existing not for profit bodies to take any pain from the process. The best known is perhaps London’s Workwhile, but simply google for others across England, or as the BBC or BT have done, organise your own!

For more information check out the Cabinet Office’s Social Value Portal or PPN2, original source material.

Choosing an apprenticeship provider

You can search the full range of apprenticeships available on the Skills England website. The Gov.uk website will then help you find a suitable apprenticeship provider.

The JGA Group is a Queen’s Award-winning training provider; priding ourselves on our high-quality and inclusive programmes. Our range of apprenticeship solutions for marketing and sales teams is one of the most comprehensive in the country. JGA skills coaches and tutors are not just teachers. They are professionals with current experience in the role, often maintaining a portfolio of consulting positions alongside their training/coaching responsibilities.

90% of employers and 95% of apprentices this year rank us Excellent or Good!

Looking to recruit or upskill within your company?
To find out more about apprenticeships, speak to our helpful team: sales@jga-group.co.uk