For levy-paying employers 

If your organisation has an annual payroll over £3 million, you’ll pay the apprenticeship levy - 0.5% of your total payroll, collected monthly via PAYE. These funds are stored in your Apprenticeship Service Account and can be used to cover the cost of apprenticeship training and assessment. 

Key benefits: 

• Use funds to train new or existing employees. 

• Funds expire after 24 months if unused. 

• You can now transfer up to 50% of your annual levy to other organisations to support their apprenticeship programmes. Learn more here.

For non-levy Paying employers

If your organisation does not pay the levy, you can still access government funding through co-investment or levy transfers. 

Standard co-investment model: 

• The government covers 95% of training costs. 

• Your organisation contributes 5%. 

• You must reserve funding in advance via the Apprenticeship Service. 

Full funding available for eligible apprentices: 

• Employers with fewer than 50 staff may receive 100% funding for apprentices aged 16–18 or those with an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan. 

Additional government incentives 

You may be able to access an additional £1,000 on top of the standard government funding if you employ a new apprentice, who is either:  

• aged 16-18 years old 

• under 25 and has been in the care of the local authority, or has an education, health or care plan in place.