Capita has funded £1m worth of training for small businesses in data and digital skills, in a drive to build digital skills and support diversity within their supply chain.
The fully funded apprenticeship programmes have supported more than 30 different SMEs to upskill and future proof their workforce. The training has been delivered by tech start-up Multiverse.
77% of UK organisations are facing a shortage of digital skills(opens new window), which stifles growth, efficiency and competitiveness. Through this partnership, eligible SMEs enrolled their staff onto Multiverse programmes with the cost of training fully borne by Capita.
It is part of the company’s business and impact goals, to equip Capita’s communities with the digital skills required for today’s world.
Amy Mulready, Global Head of Talent at Capita, said: “The need to equip communities to be able to engage effectively in an increasingly digital world has never been more important. Capita is delighted that in partnership with Multiverse we are able to utilize our apprenticeship levy to fund the training and development that enables this to happen as part of our commitment to being a responsible business.”
Capita and Multiverse began their partnership in December 2021. In that time, more than £1m of funding has been given to 32 different organisations, supporting the training and development of more than 70 individuals.
Learners come from a diversity of backgrounds, representing the communities they operate in. The initiative is in support of Capita’s diversity and inclusion commitments.
The donation is made possible by the government’s Levy Transfer system. All companies with payroll over £3 million are required to pay 0.5% Apprenticeship Levy - which goes into a pot that can be spent on training costs, or transferred to other organisations.
Yet more than £1 billion worth of levy goes unspent each year. That would be enough to create 115,540 apprenticeships✝: enough to almost halve the number of NEET 16-24 year olds(opens new window).
Multiverse, a startup tech company, is building an outstanding alternative to university and corporate training through apprenticeships. The company now trains over 10,000 tech, leadership and digital apprentices and earlier this year announced that it would facilitate the transfer of £30m from large organisations to SMEs and charities.
Jeremy Duggan, president of Multiverse, said: "Small businesses are the backbone of the economy, and their ability to grow is contingent on having the right skills in place.
“But unlike cash or assets, skills cannot simply be handed over. Through the levy transfer system, Capita has supported the growth of these SMEs by 'donating' these vital digital skills through apprenticeships - which are simply the best way to build capabilities and diversity within an organisation.”
