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Sara Warry, Senior Programme Advisor at Solent Growth Partnership, reflects on the journey of Transfer to Transform – from its launch during the uncertainty of the pandemic to becoming a programme that has supported more than 1,000 apprenticeships and unlocked millions of pounds of apprenticeship levy funding for local businesses.
Drawing on her 18 years of experience in apprenticeships and skills, Sara explores how levy transfer has helped create opportunities for individuals, supported business growth, and strengthened the regional economy. She also highlights why the need for employer levy pledgers is greater than ever as demand for skills investment continues to grow.
By Sara Warry
2 July 2026
When Transfer to Transform (T2T) launched in July 2020, the UK was in the depths of the first national lockdown. Businesses were navigating unprecedented uncertainty, apprenticeship starts were declining sharply, and many employers, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, were pausing investment in skills and workforce development.
Out of this challenge came a simple but powerful idea: what if unused apprenticeship levy funds could be redirected to where they were needed most?
Why Transfer to Transform Was Created?
At the height of the pandemic, many large employers were accumulating unused apprenticeship levy funds that risked expiring. At the same time, small and medium-sized businesses, who make up over 90% of the regional business base -were struggling both financially and operationally to access apprenticeship training.
Transfer to Transform was created to bridge that gap, connecting levy-paying employers with SMEs while removing financial barriers and simplifying what can often be a complex system to navigate. The ambition was not only to protect apprenticeship numbers during a period of crisis, but to actively revitalise the apprenticeship market and ensure continued investment in skills at a time when it was most at risk.
The Impact: Turning Unused Levy into Opportunity
Since its launch, the programme has grown far beyond its original ambition and has become a key part of the skills and business support landscape.
To date, Transfer to Transform has supported more than 1000 apprenticeship starts, working directly with 800+ small and medium-sized businesses across the region and securing £10 million+ in levy pledges from large employers. What began with just three pioneering organisations and a target of £1 million has evolved into a programme of significant scale, demonstrating not only regional impact but also influencing wider thinking around how levy transfer can be used nationally.
Impact on Individuals
At its core, Transfer to Transform is about opportunity. The impact on individuals has been profound, with hundreds of people able to access apprenticeships that might otherwise have been out of reach.
Through the programme, learners have started careers, progressed within their existing roles, and gained access to qualifications across a wide range of sectors and levels, from Level 3 Early Years Educators and Assistant Accountants through to Level 5 leadership roles and even Level 7 specialist roles such as Gaming Programmers.
The personal impact of this support is best illustrated through the experiences of those who have benefited directly. As one apprentice shared, levy transfer funding acted as a “lifeline,” enabling their employer to offer an opportunity that has “completely transformed” their future. These stories highlight how the programme goes beyond economic metrics, creating tangible life-changing outcomes.
Impact on Small Businesses
For SMEs, the programme has addressed one of the most significant barriers to growth: the cost and complexity of workforce development.
Transfer to Transform has not only supported employers financially through levy transfers but has also provided impartial advice, helped businesses navigate the apprenticeship system, matched them with appropriate training providers, and supported workforce planning. This holistic approach has enabled organisations to grow their teams, invest in staff development, and build clearer career progression pathways.
Businesses have reported that without access to levy transfer funding, many of these opportunities simply would not have been possible. As a result, the programme has played a vital role in strengthening business resilience, improving productivity, and supporting local economic recovery.
Cross-Sector Impact
One of the defining strengths of Transfer to Transform is its reach across a wide range of sectors. The programme has supported businesses operating in health and social care, construction, digital and ICT, engineering and manufacturing, hospitality and retail, as well as professional services, logistics, and the third sector.
This diversity reflects the flexibility of the model and its ability to respond to both local employer needs and wider skills shortages, ensuring that support is directed where it can have the greatest impact.
How the Initiative Has Evolved
What began as a targeted response to a national crisis has developed into a more strategic and integrated approach to skills and business support.
The programme has grown significantly in scale, moving from a small pilot to a well-established initiative supporting hundreds of businesses and apprentices while contributing to wider policy discussions around levy transfer. At the same time, its role has expanded beyond simply facilitating funding. It now includes a comprehensive support offer that encompasses skills brokerage, business advice, and long-term workforce planning.
A key milestone in this evolution has been its integration into the wider Solent Business Growth Service, following the merger of Solent Business and Skills Solutions with the Solent Growth Partnership. This has created a more joined-up offer that links skills, business support, and emerging priorities such as net zero, providing a more holistic response to the needs of businesses across the region.
The Need Now: Why Levy Transfer Matters More Than Ever
Despite the programme’s success, the underlying challenges it was created to address have not disappeared. Demand from SMEs for support remains high, with businesses continuing to face financial barriers to training and ongoing skills shortages across key sectors.
At the same time, many levy-paying employers still do not fully utilise their apprenticeship levy contributions, resulting in funds that risk expiring if they are not used or transferred. This creates a clear opportunity to maximise the impact of those funds by redirecting them into the wider economy.
Transfer to Transform sits at the intersection of these challenges and opportunities, providing a proven mechanism to ensure that levy funding is used effectively to support workforce development and economic growth.
A Call to Action: The Need for New Levy Pledgers
Looking ahead, the continued success of Transfer to Transform relies on the ongoing commitment of levy-paying employers.
The programme is actively seeking new levy pledgers to meet growing demand. By committing unused levy funds, employers are not only ensuring that their contributions are fully utilised but are also directly supporting small businesses, strengthening local talent pipelines, and delivering meaningful social and economic value.
As highlighted in the report, demand for support has not reduced – if anything, it continues to grow. This makes the case for levy transfer stronger than ever.
Looking Ahead
Transfer to Transform has demonstrated what can be achieved when organisations work collaboratively to address shared challenges. From its origins as a rapid response to a moment of crisis, it has developed into a programme that delivers lasting impact across individuals, businesses, and the wider economy.
The next phase is about building on that success, scaling the model further, and ensuring that more employers, more businesses, and more individuals can benefit.
Because when levy is shared, the impact extends far beyond training – it helps shape a stronger, more resilient and more inclusive economy.
