Co-investment

There is a similar article for employers.

Co-investment is when employers share the cost of training and assessing apprentices with the government. 

The employer may need to pay some of the cost, but the government will pay the rest up to the funding band maximum. If the apprenticeship started: 

• on or after 1 April 2019, your organisation must pay 5% of the total cost
• before 1 April 2019, your organisation must pay 10% of the total cost

Employers that do not pay the levy

From 1st of April 2024, employers who do not pay the levy will have the apprenticeship training costs fully funded for any new apprenticeships (with a start date on or after 1 April 2024) that meet the criteria below:

• aged between 16 and 21 years old, or
• aged between 22 and 24 years-old who have an Education, Health and Care (EHC) plan and / or have been in the care of their local authority

If the employer begins to pay the apprenticeship levy, future apprenticeships will use their levy balance and they will not need to pay co-investment, unless they do not have sufficient levy within their account.

It is important to monitor your levy balance and monthly payments to ensure that the employer pays the correct co-investment. This can be checked within the Finance section of their Apprenticeship Service account.

If the employers account does not update to start showing the levy balance, they may need to remove their PAYE scheme and re-add this ensuring they use the Government Gateway credentials for their organisation.

Please note that levy is transferred from HMRC to the Apprenticeship Service around the 23^rd of each month.

Levy-paying employers

The employers account will automatically go into co-investment if they do not have enough apprenticeship funds to pay for training and assessment. It is important to monitor the levy balance and monthly payments to ensure they pay the correct co-investment.

Employers cannot carry apprenticeship costs into the next month.[PL9] 

Extra funding

Employers could also get extra funding. Details of this can be found under Additional payments for employers, providers and apprentices in the Apprenticeship funding rules.

Last updated on 10 July 2024 08:35