Get the financial support you need

An apprenticeship is a great way to develop your team. Thanks to the government’s apprentice levy, you can get vital funding to cover your costs. Levy-paying businesses can access 100% funding, while non-levy payers can receive up to 95% funding towards an apprentice.

Funding and the apprenticeship levy

The Government’s Apprenticeship Service makes it easier for employers to choose and pay online for higher and degree apprenticeship training.

The apprenticeship levy dictates how much funding and support your business can access. However, the levy only applies if you have an annual wage bill of more than £3 million.

Read more about the levy on the Department for Education website.

Funding for levy-paying employers

Levy payments will be 0.5 per cent of your total wage bill, minus a £15,000 levy allowance. Those payments - and a 10 per cent government top-up - will fund apprenticeship course fees and any end-point assessment, up to the relevant funding cap.  

Funding for non-levy-paying employers

If your organisation’s total wage bill is below the £3 million threshold, the government will fund up to 95 per cent of apprenticeship course fees, up to the relevant funding cap.

For employers with less than 50 employees, you receive 100% funding for apprentices who are under the age of 19 when they start their course.

Funding bands and caps

Every higher and degree apprenticeship framework and standard has a funding band. Each band has a cap on funding the government will offer.

Read more on the Institute for Apprenticeships website.

Accessing and claiming funding for apprenticeships

The flowchart below shows how and when you can access government funding for apprenticeships.

Download our funding flowchart (PDF, 72.7KB). 

European Social Fund

European Social Fund (ESF), an executive agency of the Department for Education, part fund the delivery of certain Sheffield Hallam University non-levy apprenticeships as match funding for the 2014-20 ESF programme. Established by the European Union, the European Social Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support skills development, employment and job creation, social inclusion and local community regenerations.

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