Enrolment into the RSPCA apprentice scheme has increased by 60% since 2022, the animal welfare charity has announced.

To mark National Apprentice Week, the charity has highlighted how almost 350 people have moved through the charity’s apprentice scheme into a wide range of positions since 2017.

The scheme has helped apprentices to fill jobs in business analysis, horticulture, legal and accountancy.

As part of the process, the charity has staff on 27 different programmes and has partnered with 19 different organisations.

“I have always been really keen to make sure that young people - and people in general - are aware of the different opportunities we offer,” RSPCA apprentices and early careers manager, Lee Harrison said.

“Because when people think about the RSPCA, they think veterinary and they think animal care.

“But they don't think about business analysis and digital support technicians and accountancy, and legal and all the other apprenticeships that we do.

“We’ve managed to make the most of the apprenticeship programme. We want to maximise its value both to the RSPCA and to the young people we recruit.”

Harrison said the charity has also made great use of the Government’s Apprentice Levy – a tax which can be used to invest in apprentice training.

“We have fully utilised our apprenticeship levy, whereas many other organisations have not. This is something we are extremely proud of.

“This year we will surpass £2m of apprenticeship levy spent on bringing in apprentices and up-skilling or re-skilling our existing workforce through various apprenticeship programmes.”

The Apprenticeship Levy was introduced in 2017 and is a mandated government tax that any organisation with an annual payroll of over £3m has to pay.

The Levy is held in a pot that can only be spent on approved apprenticeship programmes, and if it isn’t used within 24 months, the organisation loses access to it.

"Between February 2020 and March 2021, over £2bn of Levy funding was unclaimed and returned to Government coffers," Ali Terrington, Partnerships Director at Corndel wrote in an article for Charity Times.

"When charities are working so hard to bring in vital income, this ringfenced training budget is disappearing before it is used," she said.

"All charities, whether through using their own Levy or by working with a corporate partner to receive gifted Levy, can benefit from the amazing training and development programmes out there.

"It is a legitimate, no strings attached solution that is ready and waiting to be used!"

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