Is your business an SME? We’ve got a brand new package of free resources and extra funding to help you to protect your future…
The MTC and Lloyds Bank have joined forces to offer a £3 million package of free support and resources to help UK manufacturing and engineering SMEs to embrace innovation, develop their workforce and increase productivity.
Our brand new SME Support Service includes advice, guidance and access to additional funding and resources for smaller organisations, helping you to recruit your next generation of talented apprentices, upskill your existing workforce, and identify opportunities to deploy emerging technology to solve productivity challenges and improve business performance.
The SME Apprenticeship Support Service provides financial and practical assistance to help SMEs to take on new apprentices. Our training experts will offer one-to-one advice and guidance to help SMEs to understand and navigate the complexities of apprenticeship funding, including the Government’s apprentice incentive scheme. They will also provide a full recruitment service to identify and secure the best talent for your business’s specific needs, and eligible SMEs will have access to salary support funding for the first 12 months of your apprentice’s training.
To enable SMEs to experience the benefits of apprenticeships, Lloyds Bank has agreed to share its Apprenticeship Levy Fund with SMEs, covering apprenticeship training costs, enabling more businesses to invest in skills and helping the UK economy grow. Over three years, up to £3m has been made available in the Lloyds Bank Levy Transfer to cover the cost of Level 3 and Level 4 apprenticeship training at either the Advanced Manufacturing Training Centre (AMTC) or the Oxfordshire Advanced Skills (OAS) training centre in Culham.
There is also an SME Training Service giving businesses free access to some of MTC Training’s industry leading courses to help upskill your existing workforces and raise awareness of disruptive technologies. The MTC’s Manufacturing Support Services complete the programme, delivering free consultations with an expert team to help manufacturers to embrace the latest technology and improve quality, cost and delivery performance to drive sustainable growth.
The SME Support service is the latest initiative in a five year partnership between Lloyds Bank and the AMTC, and aims to increase the collaboration’s reach in order to deliver greater positive impact.
Colin Bancroft, strategic development manager at MTC Training said the new service will help boost industry’s progress and success. He said, “Our goal is to provide the knowledge, skills and support that industry needs to implement the technology of tomorrow, today. In partnership with Lloyds Bank, the SME Support Service scheme will help us reach even more businesses, delivering real impact and driving positive change to empower the UK to realise its potential in advanced manufacturing.”
David Atkinson, UK head of manufacturing, SME and mid-corporate at Lloyds Bank, said: “Lloyds Bank has supported the UK’s manufacturing sector since it was founded by two industrialists in the Midlands way back in 1865! The sector continues to be an integral part of the long-term sustainable success of the UK economy. The new SME Support Service, in conjunction with the MTC, helps us deliver on our commitment to manufacturers by supporting the UK’s small-to-medium sized businesses recover strongly from the recent impacts of the pandemic.”
For more details about the new SME Support Service and to find out if your business is eligible to receive assistance, please visit https://the-amtc.co.uk/lloyds-sme/