On the 18th of March, the Prime Minister announced fully funded apprenticeships for under-22s in smaller businesses In England and Northern Ireland. So, what does this mean, how will it affect future apprentices and employers and what are the timescales? Read on to find out.

 

Funded Apprenticeships: What has changed?

Companies that have a salary bill of over £3m a year pay an apprenticeship levy. Smaller companies are classified as 'Non-levy companies'. Non-levy companies currently pay 5% of the apprenticeship training cost as "co-investment" and the government funds the rest. For example, the Marketing Executive apprenticeship training cost is £6,000, so the employer pays £300 to the training provider.

The Prime Minister announced that non-levy paying firms who take on apprentices under the age of 22 will no longer pay the co-investment.

 

When will the under-22s apprenticeship funding start?

The new apprenticeship funding plan is due to begin on the 1st of April 2024. This will not affect current apprenticeships, only those who start after 1st April.

This does not affect apprenticeships based in Scotland and Wales which have different rules and funding.

 

Sources and more information

This information has been sourced from BBC News and The UK Government website. For more information, please visit the websites above.