We are delighted to announce during National Apprenticeship Week that we have pledged £145,000 towards employee training at Acorns Children’s Hospice with an Apprenticeship Levy transfer.
Members of our Automotive team in Redditch visited Acorns for the Three Counties in Worcester during National Apprenticeship Week to announce the pledge, which has been made available through the UK’s Apprenticeship Levy scheme.
Acorns provides specialist palliative care for children and young people with life limiting and life-threatening conditions and support for their families. Every year the charity cares for more than 700 children and their families across the West Midlands and Gloucestershire, work which relies on donations and fundraising to continue.
The Apprenticeship Levy scheme aims to create sustainable funding for qualifications and apprenticeships across the UK and allows levy-paying employers to transfer up to 25% of their funds to other employers, helping smaller organisations like Acorns invest more in training opportunities. The transfer will support Acorns in upskilling its workforce by giving the charity’s employees access to specialist on-the-job training.
Stephanie Newell from the Talent Acquisition and Development team at Acorns, said: “We are incredibly grateful to NSG and Pilkington Automotive for pledging such a wonderful amount. It gives us a fantastic opportunity to enhance the training offer for our incredible teams and the vital care and support they provide to hundreds of local families.
“Learning and development is a key priority at Acorns, and we are committed to ensuring everyone at the charity has an opportunity to thrive. Levy gifting allows us to invest in our people and ‘grow-our-own’ talent through a wide range of qualifications, from specialist paediatric palliative care nurses, to accredited coaches that support teams to deliver organisational goals. We want to extend our heartfelt thanks to NSG for this continued pledge to support, this gift will be transformational for the future of Acorns.”
Emma Neal, HR Director UK and Global Functions said: “At NSG, we understand how valuable the Apprenticeship Levy is to develop and upskill workforces to be ready for the future, and are delighted to pledge £145,000 to support Acorns to deliver its 24/25 development targets. This is the first time that NSG has transferred its Apprenticeship Levy, and we are happy that it will make a significant difference to the lives of Acorns’ workforce and the children and families they care for.”
You can find out more about Acorns by visiting www.acorns.org.uk.
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From left to right: Matt Bryant (Process Engineer, from OE Automotive Redditch), Steve Hudson (Warehouse Manager, from AGR UKW Redditch),
Louise Skidmore (Partnership Fundraising Manager, Acorns), Stephanie Newell (Learning Development Officer, Acorns), Trevor Johnson (Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Acorns), Emma Neal (HR Director UK & Global Functions), Kerrie Sprason (Head of Talent Acquisition and Development, Acorns)