Most employers pay far less for apprenticeship training than they expect, and a good number pay nothing for it at all. The rules below are the published national ones — we will confirm your exact position in writing before you commit to anything.
Funding & the apprenticeship levy
Overview
If your pay bill is over £3 million
You pay the levy: 0.5% of your total pay bill, collected monthly through PAYE. Those funds sit in an apprenticeship service account and can only be spent on apprenticeship training and assessment. If you are paying it, the money is already gone — the only question is whether you use it.
From 1 August 2026 the 10% government top-up is no longer added to new funds entering levy accounts.
If your pay bill is under £3 million
You do not pay the levy, and for most apprentices you do not pay for the training either.
- Apprentices aged 16 to 24: government funds 100% of the training and assessment costs, up to the funding band maximum.
- Apprentices aged 25 and over: you co-invest 5% of the cost; government funds the other 95%.
If you pay the levy but your funds run out
- Apprentices aged 16 to 24: government funds 100% of the training and assessment costs.
- Apprentices aged 25 and over: you co-invest 25%; government funds the other 75%.
Additional payments
You receive £1,000 for taking on an apprentice aged 16 to 18, or one aged 19 to 24 who has an education, health and care plan or has been in care. There is separate funding for English and maths where the apprentice needs it, and for learning support.
Transferring levy funds
Levy-paying employers can transfer up to 50% of their annual funds to other employers. If you are a large employer with unspent funds, this is a practical way to support apprenticeships in your supply chain; if you are a small employer, it is worth asking your larger customers whether they transfer.
What you always pay
Whatever the training costs, you pay the apprentice’s wage and you give up the released hours. Those are the real costs of an apprenticeship and no funding covers them. We say so plainly because employers who are surprised by it later tend to be the ones whose apprentices do not finish.
Where these figures come from
The rates above are taken from the Department for Education apprenticeship funding rules 2026 to 2027, which applies from 1 August 2026. Checked 14 August 2026. Funding rules change, sometimes at short notice, so treat this page as an orientation rather than a quotation — we confirm the current position for your business, in writing, before anything is signed.
Ready when you are
Twenty minutes, free, no pressure. You will leave knowing exactly what your next step is.
- 1Tell us your goal
A first role, a promotion, or a skills gap in your team.
- 2We map the route
Twenty minutes with an advisor — apprenticeship, certification or bespoke training.
- 3You start
Middlesbrough, on-site at your workplace anywhere in the UK, or live online.
Ready when you are
Twenty minutes, free, no pressure. You will leave knowing exactly what your next step is.