Following the success of last month’s National Apprenticeship Week, Enterprise Oxfordshire remind employers of their Apprenticeship Levy Support Scheme after Grundon pledge £100k to support apprenticeships in the county
Mar 03, 2026
The Apprenticeship Levy Support Scheme helps Oxfordshire employers navigate the levy transfer process and make the most of local apprenticeship opportunities, keeping funds here in the county.
Enterprise Oxfordshire are urging the county’s businesses – of all sizes – to find out more about their Apprenticeship Levy Support Scheme, following on from the successes shared and awareness raised by this year’s National Apprenticeship Week.
The Apprenticeship Levy Support Scheme supports large employers who pay the apprenticeship levy to share up to 50% of their unused levy funds with other businesses to fully cover the cost of apprenticeship training and end-point assessment. The initiative supports smaller businesses who do not pay the levy to take on apprentices or upskill their staff at no cost, as well as levy-paying employers who have already used all their own levy funds.
Enterprise Oxfordshire support both donating and receiving employers through every step of the process, from matching suitable partners to completing the levy transfer through the Apprenticeship Service.
So far, £6.6m of levy funds have been secured through the initiative, with 529 apprenticeship starts funded and £15.9m social value created through the scheme here in Oxfordshire.
This comes following the news that waste management company, Grundon, based in Wallingford, have successfully pledged £100k of their levy funds to support apprenticeships within the county.
Helen Brind, Director of Business and Skills at Enterprise Oxfordshire, said: “Our Apprenticeship Levy Support Scheme plays a vital role in ensuring apprenticeship funds stay here in the county – and it is only through the support of committed organisations such as Grundon that these initiatives and opportunities can thrive.
“We’d urge the county’s levy paying businesses to get in touch to find out more about the scheme and how they can support apprenticeships and the talent pipeline here in Oxfordshire. We’d also urge the county’s smaller businesses – or even larger organisations who’ve already utilised their own funds to contact us and see how the initiative can work for them.”
Future Talent Lead, Addisen Gregory from Grundon, said: “The business has long recognised the value apprentices bring to business growth, innovation and community development. As a major employer with a strong commitment to supporting local talent, Grundon had been exploring meaningful ways to reinvest in its surrounding communities. Building on a collaborative relationship with Enterprise Oxfordshire Skills, the opportunity to pledge apprenticeship levy funds became a natural next step.
“By contributing our levy funds, we hope to give SMEs and other smaller organisations the same benefits we have seen at Grundon: skilled, motivated employees who can grow and thrive, supporting personal, business and community development.”
Enterprise Oxfordshire has demonstrated the importance of supporting Oxfordshire businesses and communities for over a decade, with the new trading name replacing the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP) on 1 April 2025.
The change marked the completion of a two-year process that saw the economic development functions – previously led by Local Enterprise Partnerships – altered so that they were to be overseen via a mechanism agreed by respective upper-tier local authorities, in this instance, Oxfordshire County Council.
Since becoming Enterprise Oxfordshire in April, Oxfordshire County Council now act as the organisation’s 100% shareholder, known as a Teckal company arrangement.
Further demonstrating their commitment to apprenticeships in the county, Grundon are sponsoring the ‘Higher / Degree Apprentice of the Year’ Award at the 10th annual Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards run by Enterprise Oxfordshire.
The celebration evening set to highlight the county’s apprenticeship stars will take place on 21 May 2026 at the recently-opened Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities – the University of Oxford’s new world-class centre for the arts and humanities.
In 2025, judges at the Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards highly commended Grundon in the Apprenticeship Employer of the Year (250+ employees) category, acknowledging the company’s passion for nurturing talent and creating opportunities for the next generation.
Find out more about the Oxfordshire Apprenticeship Awards 2026