Apprenticeship Funding -
Levy & Non-Levy
What is an apprenticeship levy?
The levy applies to any employer that has an annual wage bill of more than £3 million. (You will still be impacted by these changes if your wage bill is under this so read on to find out more).
This scheme only supports apprenticeships in England.
Apprenticeship funding is a devolved issue so each of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have their own arrangements for supporting employers to access apprenticeships.
The levy is only part of the Government reforms that are being rolled out. The levy is paid directly to HMRC through the PAYE process.
Apprenticeship levy payments are a deductible expense for Corporation Tax. The levy payment is 0.5% of the employers’ annual total UK wage bill
Apprenticeships for Non-Levy Employers
Employers will pay 5% towards the cost of the apprenticeship and the Government will pay the other 95%, up to the funding band maximum. This was changed from 10% in April 2019. However, some* training does qualify for 100% funding from the Government.
Currently, non levy-paying employers are unable to use the apprentice service to pay for apprenticeships. Instead, the employer must pay the training provider their 5% contribution directly and the provider will then claim the rest from the Government.
- 16-18 year old apprentices
- 19-24 year old care leavers
- Learners who have an Education, Health and Care plan
The Government will pay 100% of the training costs for these individuals.
Cost & Funding Breakdown
Course | Cost | 5% Contribution |
Level 2 Childcare Diploma for the Early Years Practitioner (RQF) | £4,000 | £200 |
Level 3 Childcare and Young People's Workforce (Early Years Educator) (RQF) | £6,000 | £300 |
Level 3 Diploma in Administration Operations (RQF) | £5,000 | £250 |
Level 3 Diploma in Team Management (RQF) | £4,500 | £225 |
ESFA Apprenticeship Service
From 1st April 2021 all new apprenticeships will be managed and funded using the government’s apprenticeship service and all employers hiring apprentices will need to have an apprenticeship service account in order to access funding.
There are videos and other resources available on the government website to guide and support you:
- The ESFA YouTube playlist ‘Using the apprenticeship service’ is a collection of simple, how-to videos.
- apprenticeships.gov.uk contains lots of FAQs
- Help articles provide straightforward advice on how to use the apprenticeship service.
More information can be found here.
Incentives
The government offers an additional grant of £1,000 to support employers recruiting, employing and retaining young apprentices.
There are 2 areas of entitlement for this:
- Aged between 16 and 18 years old (or 15 years of age if the apprentice’s 16th birthday is between the last Friday of June and 31 August); or
- Aged between 19 and 24 years old and has either an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan provided by their local authority or has been in the care of their local authority.
View the latest ESFA rules and information about funding for training and assessing apprentices in England here.