Browns Colleagues Thrive with Share of £63k Local Authority Funding

We are delighted to have joined 15 Stoke-on-Trent based companies in creating apprenticeships, thanks to funding from Stoke-on-Trent City Council.

Creating 12 apprenticeships across our customer support, transport and warehouse teams, Browns have benefitted from a chunk of the £63,000 grant paid out by the City Council's apprenticeship levy. 

Councillor Jane Ashworth, Leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council told DailyFocus: 

We’ve got a brilliant record of supporting and creating apprenticeships within the city council using our levy.    

If the money in our levy account is not used every two years, it’s returned to the UK Government. Sadly prior to us taking office the city had to return money to the government for not employing enough apprentices.    

This led to us approaching local employers to see how we could make sure the money was used to do what it was intended to do. The take-up has been fantastic, and it’s led to more people being able to earn money while learning vital skills on-the-job and through studying.  

It was vitally important that we sorted this out and got the most out of every penny due to the city and our young people.”  

While Darren Simpson, Operations Director, said:

We want to express our sincere gratitude to Stoke-on-Trent City Council for its generous support and levy funding for apprenticeships.

This investment in training has not only created opportunities for 12 members of our team to learn, grow, and gain practical skills, but it’s also helping to build stronger, more capable workers who will contribute to both Browns and our local economy.

The Council’s commitment to apprenticeships is truly life-changing for many, and it reflects the values of inclusivity and progress that make our community so strong. From all at Browns, we thank them for all their support.”