In England the apprenticeships that we offer are funded by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) who are government owned. This means that you as an employer must contribute very little towards the cost of training.
Funding is allocated differently in Wales, please click here to find out the latest guidance.
In England, funding often depends on two factors, the size of your business and the age of the apprentice you would like to recruit. Please see the tables below to get an indication of what you could be expected to contribute.
Small Employer 0-49 Employees
Is your apprentice 16-18 years old?
Yes - No Contribution required as fully funded through ESFA
No - You will be required to contribute 5% of the total cost for the apprenticeship, price is often determined based on a prospective apprentices’ level of Recognised Prior Learning if applicable.
Medium – Large Employer Non-Levy, 50 Employees or more
Is your apprentice 16-18 years old?
Yes - You will be required to contribute 5% of the total cost for the apprenticeship, price is often determined based on a prospective apprentices’ level of Recognised Prior Learning if applicable.
No - You will be required to contribute 5% of the total cost for the apprenticeship, price is often determined based on a prospective apprentices’ level of Recognised Prior Learning if applicable.
In England, if you take on an apprentice aged 16-18 or a 19+ with additional learning needs you will receive a £1,000 grant from the UK government
Apprentices hired between 1 April 2021 and 30 September 2021
-Available funding for apprentices aged 16-18: £4,000
-Available funding for apprentices aged 19 and over: £3,000
In March, the Government announced that cash payments for employers who take on apprentices are increasing to their highest level ever. Employers can claim the incentive grant for apprentices hired between 1 April 2021 and 30 September 2021.
For an apprentice of any age, employers can claim a grant of £3,000 to put towards their training, their salary, or equipment.
This is in addition to the existing £1,000 payment for all new 16-18-year-old apprentices (and those aged under 25 with an Education, Health and Care Plan, where applicable). This means that an employer of a 16-18-year-old will receive £4,000.
Employers are required to register for The Apprenticeship Service (TAS) and reserve their funding prior to making the claim for the grant, if this is not done then the claim cannot be made. Eligible employers can make a claim via the TAS portal from 1 June 2021.
Official Government guidance can be found here.
Click here to find out more information on how to claim the grant.
Click here to watch a guidance video on how to claim the grant.
Further information on how to access the TAS portal can be found further down this webpage.
If you have a company pay bill of over £3 million then you are required to pay the Apprenticeship Levy. This is a requirement by government and means you must contribute 0.5% of your annual salary bill to taking on apprentices.
For more information on the Levy please visit the government website.
The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) have confirmed a new funding process for small and medium businesses. Employers taking on new apprentices in 2020 will now be required to access government funding for apprenticeships using the gov.uk portal, The Apprenticeship Service (TAS).
We have created easy to follow, step by step guidance to make this process as simple as possible, please click on the links below.
To meet the eligibility criteria for the incentive payment for hiring a new apprentice, smaller employers need to prepare as soon as possible. You can take the following steps to help prepare:
Create an apprenticeship service account.
Reserve apprenticeship funds.
Advertise apprenticeship opportunities.
For more support, you can visit our Employer portal which contains information such as FAQs and how to get in touch with JTL about taking on an apprentice.
View and download our handy guides below and our FAQ’s may clarify apprenticeship funding further.
A guide to apprenticeship funding rules