Apprenticeship Funding

Funding for SMEs

If your business or organisation has an annual wage bill of less than £3m then you do not pay the Apprenticeship Levy.

Employers with an annual wage bill of less than £3m do not pay the Apprenticeship Levy.

Instead, you pay just 5% toward the cost of the Apprenticeship and the government will pay the remaining 95%. This is known as ‘co-investment’. The maximum cost will depend upon which one of the 15 funding bands the Apprenticeship you want to use falls into.This is managed through the Digital Apprenticeship Service (DAS) online account. Train 2 Travel will provide advice and guidance on this.

In some cases, there is additional financial incentives in place. If you employ an apprentice who is between the ages of 16-18 you will receive £1000 kick back or between the ages of 19-24 with additional learning needs or an education, health and care (EHC) plan.

Funding for Levy payers

The Apprenticeship Levy applies to both public and private UK employers across all sectors with an annual payroll of more than £3m.If you are an employer with an annual wage bill of more than £3m then you will be paying an Apprenticeship Levy of 0.5% on payroll through PAYE. There is a £15,000 fixed annual allowance that employers can offset against their levy payments. The levy allowance operates on a monthly basis and accumulates over the year. Any unused allowance is carried over from one month to the next. If you don’t use them, you will lose them.