Buying apprenticeship training
Apprenticeship training started before April 2017 – all employers
Apprentices who have been accepted on to an apprenticeship programme before April 2017 will be funded for the full duration of the apprenticeship under the terms and conditions that were in place at the time the apprenticeship started.
This will be the case for apprentices following programmes underpinned by both apprenticeship ‘frameworks’ and new ‘apprenticeship standards’. Where the apprenticeship requires you to make a payment to the provider or to the Skills Funding Agency, this will continue at the same rate.
If you pay the Apprenticeship Levy you will not be able to use the funds in your digital account to pay for these apprenticeships.
Digital apprenticeship service
Whether you pay the levy or not, the digital apprenticeship service will help you to:
- Select an apprenticeship framework or standard
- Choose an assessment organisation
- Post apprenticeship vacancies
From April 2017, if you pay the levy you will also be able to:
- See the funds you have available to spend in England
- Set the price you’ve agreed with us
- Pay for apprenticeship training and assessment through the digital apprenticeship service
By 2020, all employers will be able to use the digital apprenticeship service to pay for training and assessment for apprenticeships.
Employers who operate in England and other parts of the UK
If you do not pay the levy, you won’t need to use the digital apprenticeship service to pay for apprenticeship training and assessment until at least 2018. When you are asked to start using the digital apprenticeship service to pay for apprenticeship training, the government and Qube will help you to prepare.
Choosing apprenticeship training – all employers
You will need to choose the training you’d like your apprentice to receive throughout their apprenticeship. Apprenticeship training can either be on a new apprenticeship standard, or on an existing apprenticeship framework.
What you can spend apprenticeship funding on – all employers
Funds in your digital account, and funding provided by the government through co-investment, can only be used towards the costs of apprenticeship training and end point assessment.
It can’t be used on other costs associated with your apprentices or wider training effort. For example wages, statutory licences to practise, travel and subsidiary costs, managerial costs, traineeships, work placement programmes or the costs of setting up an apprenticeship programme.
Later in the year the government will publish a set of detailed funding rules that will provide further information on exactly how apprenticeship funding can be used.
Levy-paying employers
The agreed price for training with us will cover the delivery of apprenticeship training towards a specific standard or framework, and the cost of assessing the apprentice at the end of their apprenticeship.
You can use funds in your digital account to pay us, up to the maximum allowed by the relevant funding band.
For example, the apprenticeship standard you have chosen is in a funding band with a limit of £6,000 and we agree a price of £5,500. The government will deduct this amount from your digital account, in monthly instalments, over the life of the apprenticeship.
If you negotiate a price with us that is more than the maximum allowed by the funding band, then you must pay the difference between the band maximum and the agreed price, in full. You can’t make this payment from your digital account.
Employers that don’t pay the levy
You will agree a price with us which will cover the delivery of apprenticeship training towards a specific standard or framework, and the cost of assessing the apprentice at the end of their apprenticeship. You pay for this through co-investment with us. Co-investment means that you and the government each pay some of the money to us. There will be a rate set each year, for the proportion of the money that you need to pay and the proportion the government will pay.
Your payment plus the government contribution cannot total more than the maximum allowed by the funding band for the standard or framework you have chosen.
If you negotiate a price with us that is more than the maximum allowed by the funding band, then you must pay the difference between the band maximum and the agreed price, in full. You won’t get government support towards these costs.
Extra Support
Employing 16 to 18 year old apprentices – all employers
When you take on an apprentice who is between 16 and 18 years old at the start of their apprenticeship, you will receive a payment to help meet the extra costs of employing them. This will be paid to you through us.
Employing apprentices with additional needs – all employers
To help meet extra costs, you will receive the same payment as you do when you recruit a 16 to 18 year old apprentice, if you recruit:
- An apprentice who is between 19 and 24 years old and who has an Education and Health and Care Plan provided by the local authority
- A19 to 24 year old who has been in the care of the local authority
If you recruit an apprentice with additional learning needs such as dyslexia, other learning difficulties or disabilities, we will make a payment directly to us to help them with the extra costs of supporting the apprentice’s learning.
Funding for English and maths training – all employers
Apprentices have to meet a minimum standard in both English and maths up to Level 2. There are specific qualifications they must achieve. If your apprentices don’t already have these, they may need to do an English or maths course.
You will need to work with us to identify which of your apprentices require this training. The government will pay us directly, for the Level 1 and 2 English and maths training we provide to your apprentices.