The Growth and Skills Levy: What Training Providers Need to Know in 2026

Last updated: 15 July 2026. Reviewed against the official Growth and Skills Levy employer guidance and version 1 of the 2026 to 2027 funding rules.

What Is the Growth and Skills Levy?

The Growth and Skills Levy is the government's transformation of the apprenticeship levy into a more flexible offer for employers and learners in England. It builds on the existing levy and apprenticeship service account rather than creating an unrestricted training budget.

The levy charge remains 0.5% of an employer's annual pay bill, offset by the £15,000 annual allowance; in practice, employers with a pay bill above £3 million generally pay it. The important operational changes are the approved product offer and, from 1 August 2026, the way new funds enter and expire in employer accounts.

Levy-paying employers can still transfer up to 50% of their funds to other employers. The 2026 to 2027 funding rules clarify that the transfer allowance covers approved apprenticeships and apprenticeship units. Product eligibility, provider approval and learner eligibility still have to be satisfied.

Which Training Types Are Eligible?

Employers and providers should start with the live product catalogue, not a generic list of programme categories. The current approved offer is:

• Apprenticeships: an exact approved apprenticeship standard that is eligible for funding. Providers must check the current version, funding band and any delivery restriction or start limit.
• Foundation apprenticeships: approved Level 2 employment-and-training products for eligible young people at the start of their career.
• Apprenticeship units: exact approved short units for employed learners aged 19 or over, drawn from knowledge and skills in occupational standards.

The government's employer search now covers apprenticeships, foundation apprenticeships and apprenticeship units. Each result has a defined product, version, provider offer and funding position. Providers should not market a proposed course as levy-funded until it appears as an approved product and they are authorised to deliver it.

Levy Account Changes from 1 August 2026

There are two different expiry clocks during the transition. Treating the whole account balance as if it expires after 12 months would be incorrect:

• The 10% government top-up stops for new funds entering an account from 1 August 2026.
• Those new funds expire after 12 months if unused.
• Funds that entered the account on or before 31 July 2026 keep their existing 24-month expiry period and retain any top-up already applied.
• The apprenticeship service continues to use the oldest funds first.

Providers should therefore model each employer's available balance by fund-entry month. A simple total-balance figure will not show which money has a 24-month life and which money has a 12-month life.

Co-investment for New Starts from 1 August 2026

The employer contribution depends on whether the employer pays the levy, whether sufficient funds remain in its account and the apprentice's age at the start:

• Levy payer with insufficient account funds: the employer pays 25% and government pays 75% for new starts from 1 August 2026, up to the funding band maximum.
• Non-levy employer, apprentice aged 16 to 24: government funds 100% of eligible training and assessment costs for new starts from 1 August 2026, up to the funding band maximum. The rules also include the stated school-leaver age-15 exception.
• Non-levy employer, apprentice aged 25 or over: the employer pays 5% and government pays 95% for new starts from 1 August 2026, up to the funding band maximum.

The 25% rate is not a universal rate for every employer. It applies to a levy-paying employer whose account cannot cover a new start from 1 August 2026. Rates follow the learner's original start-date rules, and the employer pays any negotiated price above the funding band maximum in full.

Foundation Apprenticeships: Verified Eligibility and Sectors

A foundation apprenticeship is a paid job with structured Level 2 training in an entry-level occupation. It is not a generic pre-employment course or a route for adult career changers of any age. The current eligibility routes are:

• aged 16 to 21 at the start; or
• aged 22 to 24 with an education, health and care plan, as a care leaver, or as a prisoner or prison leaver.

People aged 25 or over are not eligible. The apprenticeship minimum duration is at least eight months, and the provider must establish through initial assessment that a foundation apprenticeship is the right programme for the learner.

The official employer guidance currently lists foundation apprenticeships in six sectors:

• construction and the built environment
• engineering and manufacturing
• health and social care
• digital
• catering and hospitality
• retail service, supply and administration

Availability is product-specific within those sectors. Check the current Skills England standard page and provider availability rather than assuming every occupation in a listed sector has a foundation apprenticeship.

Apprenticeship Units: Use the Live Catalogue and Product Rules

Apprenticeship units are the approved short-course product in the current Growth and Skills Levy offer. They are not a blanket funding route for any short qualification or internally designed module.

For a learner to access unit funding, the current rules require that they:

• are aged 19 or over when the unit starts;
• are already employed by the participating employer under a contract of employment;
• normally spend at least 50% of their working hours in England over the unit; and
• are not undertaking an apprenticeship at the same time.

The official employer guidance describes the current units as 30 to 140 delivery hours over one to 16 weeks. The exact Skills England unit page sets its reference, version, minimum delivery hours, maximum funding and approval status. A provider must be approved for the relevant unit route; being approved to deliver apprenticeships generally does not by itself authorise every unit.

Before committing an employer, check the unit's live catalogue status and the funding rules that apply on the proposed start date. Product availability and rates can change for new starts, while an approved learner already on programme keeps the rules applicable to that start.

Are Skills Bootcamps Funded Through Levy Accounts?

Skills Bootcamps remain a separate government-funded programme with their own contracts and rules. The current official Growth and Skills Levy employer guidance does not list generic Skills Bootcamps as a product employers can buy from their apprenticeship service account.

Providers should therefore avoid telling employers that levy funds can generally pay for a Skills Bootcamp, or that any shorter Level 2 or Level 3 qualification will become levy-eligible. If government adds another product later, use the published product catalogue, effective date and funding rules at that point rather than a policy expectation or an invented future programme.

How Training Providers Should Prepare

Audit Products, Not Broad Training Categories

For every proposed levy-funded offer, record the exact product reference, version, approval status, funding maximum and learner start-date rules. Separate approved products from commercial courses, Skills Bootcamps and qualifications funded through other routes.

Configure Product-specific Workflows

• Apprenticeships: retain the standard/version, training plan, applicable off-the-job minimum, assessment plan and funding band.
• Foundation apprenticeships: capture age eligibility and any 22-to-24 exception evidence, plus the exact foundation standard and progression requirements.
• Apprenticeship units: capture employment and age eligibility, the exact unit version, minimum hours, unit-specific initial assessment and milestone reporting.

Model the Funding Route at Learner Level

Do not apply one co-investment setting across a customer account. Store levy status, available balance, learner age and original start date so the system can distinguish 25/75 levy-insufficient starts, fully funded non-levy starts for ages 16 to 24, and 5/95 non-levy starts for ages 25 and over.

Give Employers a Transition View

Employer reporting should separate pre-August funds with a 24-month expiry from new funds with a 12-month expiry, show the oldest-funds-first position, and identify where a planned start may need co-investment. Transfer planning should use the current 50% maximum and confirm that the receiving employer, learner and product are eligible.

What a Levy-ready Platform Needs

• Product identity: reference and version control for apprenticeships, foundation apprenticeships and apprenticeship units.
• Eligibility controls: different checks for each product and learner route, including age and employment rules.
• Funding transitions: start-date-aware co-investment and separate 12-month and 24-month account-fund expiry views.
• Provider controls: delivery approval recorded at product or route level, not inferred from a general provider status.
• Evidence and reporting: workflows that follow the current apprenticeship or unit funding rules without forcing unrelated programmes into the same template.

The practical test is whether a provider can trace every funded learner back to an exact approved product and rule version, explain the employer contribution, and evidence why the learner and provider were eligible on the start date.

Quick Reference: Growth and Skills Levy Checklist

• Use only an exact approved apprenticeship, foundation apprenticeship or apprenticeship unit
• Check the live catalogue, product version, funding maximum and provider approval before commitment
• Do not describe generic Skills Bootcamps or shorter qualifications as levy-account products
• Separate funds received by 31 July 2026 from new funds received from 1 August 2026
• Remove the 10% top-up from forecasts for new account funds from 1 August 2026
• Apply 25/75 only to levy-paying employers with insufficient funds for applicable new starts
• Apply the non-levy age route: fully funded ages 16 to 24; 5/95 for ages 25 and over
• Use the current 50% transfer maximum and recheck receiving-employer eligibility
• Verify foundation apprenticeship age eligibility and select only a live standard in a current sector
• Verify apprenticeship-unit age, employment, England-hours and concurrent-programme rules
• Read the Funding Rules 2026/27 guide before planning starts from 1 August 2026