Using the Digital Apprenticeship Service

As an Apprenticeship employer in England, you have access to the full benefits of the Digital Apprenticeship Service (DAS). This service allows you to control how you pay for Apprenticeship training, access grants and manage your Apprentices.

This step-by-step guide is designed to help you set up and use your account on the Digital Apprenticeship Service.

If you have any questions or would prefer to have someone talk you through the process, please contact Employer Services Team either by email employerservices@esc.ac.uk or call 01737 788316.

Using your Apprenticeship Levy

If your organisation pays the Apprenticeship Levy, your funds are managed through your DAS account. This allows you to allocate levy contributions directly to apprenticeship training, manage payments to providers, and make the most of your available funding, all within the same Digital Apprenticeship Service platform.

What is the Apprenticeship Levy and who pays it?

Government funding for Apprenticeships has changed. An Apprenticeship Levy, a mandatory tax, was introduced for all employers with a wage bill that exceeds £3 million. 

• Levy on UK employers will fund growth in the Apprenticeship programme. In parallel, employers have been given more influence over how Apprenticeships are designed and paid for. 
• The Levy (0.5% of pay bill) is paid through PAYE. It applies to all employers in all sectors. 
• Employers in England who pay the Levy are able to get out more than they pay into the Levy, through a 10% top-up to their digital accounts. 

How Levy Funds Are Used?

Digital funds and government funding can be used for apprenticeship training and assessment delivered against an approved framework or standard. This must be provided by an approved training provider and assessment organisation, and is funded up to the maximum of the relevant apprenticeship funding band.

Digital funds and government funding cannot be used for: 

• Wages 
• Travel and subsistence costs 
• Managerial costs 
• Traineeships 
• Work placement programmes  
• The costs of setting up an Apprenticeship programme 

If you have any questions about the Apprenticeship Levy, please contact Employer Services Team either by email employerservices@esc.ac.uk or call 01737 788316.