Apprenticeships provide your business with an opportunity to recruit and train new talent, as well as upskill your existing employees, helping your business adapt and grow. The apprenticeship levy, introduced in 2017 and paid by large employers with a pay bill of over £3 million, can be used by these employers to spend on their training costs.
Large businesses are not the only organisations that can benefit from apprenticeship funding support, however – non-levy paying SME employers can also benefit from the scheme, with funding opportunities potentially covering the full cost of the apprenticeship (depending on conditions).
A non-levy employer is a business with an annual pay bill below £3 million. As a non-levy employer, you will not be paying 0.5% of your payroll as an apprenticeship levy. Instead, you are eligible for funding from the government towards your apprenticeship costs.
Depending on whether your business meets certain conditions, non-levy employers are eligible for 95 – 100% funding from the UK Government to cover the costs of apprenticeships.
| 95% Government Funding | 100% Government Funding | |
| Non-levy employers can receive 95% apprenticeship funding from the UK Government if: | Non-levy employers can receive 100% apprenticeship funding from the UK Government if: | |
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You will still need to pay your apprentice for their normal working hours and any training they do as part of their apprenticeship. This must be at least the National Minimum Wage rate, depending on their age and how many years they are into their apprenticeship.
The rates from April 2022 are:
| Apprentice | Under 19 | 19 – 20 | 21 – 22 | 23 and over |
| In first year | £4.81 | £4.81 | £4.81 | £4.81 |
| Completed first year | £4.81 | £6.63 | £9.18 | £9.50 |
Just like levy-paying employers, non-levy employers can use apprenticeships both to recruit new talent to join their staff and to upskill existing employees. This can be through apprenticeships specific to a sector, such as construction apprenticeships or healthcare apprenticeships, or developing key business skills in your company, such as Business Administration or Team Leadership.
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