Funding boost for apprenticeships

Do you know training costs for apprentices aged 21 to 24 will soon be free for small businesses? We’ve welcomed government moves to boost apprenticeships. 

The apprenticeship levy is to be replaced by a Growth and Skills Levy that will make training costs fully funded for most apprentices in those firms. From April 2026, the government will fund 100% of training costs for apprentices under 25, removing the 5% employer contribution. This applies to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) – the idea is to make it easier to hire and train apprentices.

The changes include both new recruits and apprentices in the current workforce. SMEs will continue to pay no Class 1 employer National Insurance for under-25s who earn below £967 a week. For older apprentices, the government will continue to fund 95% of costs.

Jodie Colverson, apprenticeships manager at ABDO College, said “Apprenticeships are fantastic. They’re an amazing way to learn, to train and to gain employability skills. At the end of three years, the employer gets a fully qualified dispensing optician.”

• Find out more about the dispensing optician apprenticeship here.