There’s often a misconception that apprenticeships are expensive to fund, but this certainly isn’t the case!

Here, we’ll run through the three key ways of funding an apprenticeship in detail and highlight some of the additional incentives that are available. You can learn even more about the various funding opportunities available in our free to download e-guide.

The Apprenticeship Levy

The Apprenticeship Levy is paid by large UK employers to fund new apprenticeships helping to boost investment in vocational skills.

Employers in England who pay the levy and participate in apprenticeship programmes receive more than they pay into it. They earn an additional 10% through a monthly top-up to their digital account.

Levy payments can be used to fund apprenticeships right across your organisation, not just for new employees. So staff seeking promotion could be eligible for a supervisory or management apprenticeship and more senior workers could take on a degree-level apprenticeship – funded by the levy.

Co-investment – for non-levy payers

Smaller companies, who don’t pay the Apprenticeship Levy, have access to the government’s co-investment fund to help cover the cost of apprenticeship training.

The Government will fully fund apprenticeships in small businesses by paying the full cost of training for anyone up to the age of 21.

These payments are made directly to the apprenticeship training provider and the End Point Assessment organisation. Additionally, employers who don’t pay the levy are eligible for additional funding and support. This is dependent on the apprentice’s circumstances or if a business employs fewer than fifty people.

Apprenticeship Levy transfers

A handful of employers who pay the Apprenticeship Levy can sometimes find themselves in a situation where they have unspent funds.

This opens up the opportunity for these businesses to support others by transferring up to 50%  of their annual funds to another business in need. These companies can make transfers from their apprenticeship account to as many employers as they choose. 

Any employer can receive a levy transfer, whether you pay it yourself or not. Transfers can only be used towards new apprenticeships, not ones already underway.

Good to know: At HIT Training, we work with a large number of businesses who are willing to transfer funds from their Apprenticeship Levy to other employers in need. This means that we can support you to access apprenticeships with the costs covered by a levy transfer.