How funding works if you do not pay the apprenticeship levy

Smaller employers, who do not pay the apprenticeship levy share the cost of training and assessing their apprentices with the government. This is called ‘co-investment’.

For new apprenticeships starting on or after 1 April 2019 you pay 5% towards the cost of apprenticeship training. The government will pay the rest (95%) up to the funding band maximum.

All apprenticeships that started before 1 April 2019 will continue at the previous co-investment rate of 10%.

You can pay the difference from your own budget if the price of training is more than the funding band maximum.

As a smaller employer, you can reserve funds in the ‘finance’ section of your apprenticeship service account. You can also give your training provider permission to reserve them on their behalf.

From January 2020 all employers can use the service to tailor apprenticeship training to meet their business needs, filling skills gaps and boosting productivity.

Before setting up your apprenticeship service account

You will need:

• an email address you have access to
• the Government Gateway login for your organisation (or you can use the accounts office reference number and employer PAYE scheme reference number if your annual pay bill is less than £3 million)
• authority to add PAYE schemes to the account
• authority to accept the employer agreement on behalf of your organisation

You will be asked to:

• create an account
• add a PAYE scheme on behalf of your organisation
• accept the employer agreement with the ESFA

Further information, click here
If you are ready to set up your digital account, please follow this link: