THE vice chancellor of Cumbria's university will be a guest speaker at an event which will have a focus on the new apprenticeship levy.

The University of Cumbria's Professor Peter Strike will speak at the Insider Breakfast event on June 30.

The Government’s target of three million apprenticeships by 2020, aided by the apprenticeship levy, should be a huge opportunity for the next generation.

But the event at the Castle Green Hotel, Kendal, will look at if businesses are prepared for it.

From April 2017, companies with a remuneration bill in excess of £3m will pay a 0.5 per cent tax to finance the apprenticeship programme. The sum raised is expected to be in the region of £2.7bn in 2017/18 and will continue rising in the years to come. The money should then be available to all employers to fund apprenticeships from April 2018.

Professor Strike said: “The announcement of the new apprenticeship levy is likely to have a significant impact on universities and it is vital that we work, support and engage with employers to deliver the Government’s apprenticeship targets.”

The Insider breakfast will first identify the skills gap in the region and which sectors are the hardest hit. It will also seek to demystify the levy and hear from forward-thinking companies and their advisers on how to make the most of this new approach to apprenticeships.

The Insider Breakfast will ask how the levy will benefit large and smaller businesses, how to navigate the new funding system, and how to choose the training you’d like your apprentice to receive throughout their apprenticeship.

Other guest speakers include Carl Speight, vice principal for enterprise and engagement of Preston's College, Mark Donnelly, apprenticeship and skills manager at BAE Systems, Ken McEwan, head of training (nuclear), Sellafield.