Ministers are weighing a higher employer bill for older apprentices in England, with a reported 25% contribution intended to shift public support toward younger workers as youth apprenticeship starts have fallen.
The Guardian and FE Week reported that employers could be required to pay one quarter of training and assessment costs for older apprentices. FE Week described the group as apprentices aged 25 and over, while The Guardian referred to workers over 25, so the reports do not settle the exact age cutoff. The reported extension does not appear in published funding rules.
For apprenticeship starts from Aug. 1, 2026, Department for Work and Pensions guidance says the government covers eligible costs up to the funding-band maximum. For apprentices aged 25 and older, non-levy employers pay 5% of those costs; levy-paying employers whose accounts are exhausted pay 25%. For apprentices aged 16 to 24, the government covers eligible costs up to the maximum for both groups. Extending a 25% share to non-levy employers would raise their contribution by 20 percentage points.
The policy discussion comes amid pressure to expand youth training. The Office for National Statistics estimated that 981,000 UK residents aged 16 to 24 were not in education, employment or training from April to June 2026, equal to 13% of that age group. The government has an ambition to add 50,000 youth apprenticeship starts by 2029, after starts among 16- to 24-year-olds fell 40% over the past decade. In England’s 2024/25 academic year, people aged 25 and older accounted for 51.3% of apprenticeship starts, compared with 21.2% for those under 19, Department for Education statistics show.
Robert Halfon, Make UK’s executive director of policy, told The Guardian the proposal “will just mean opportunities are shifted around instead of creating new ones.” The Guardian also quoted John Foster, chief policy and campaigns officer at the Confederation of British Industry, saying, “We can’t make skills a zero-sum game.” FE Week reported that the Department for Work and Pensions declined to comment on the proposal while confirming further Growth and Skills Levy reforms; it did not confirm the proposal’s terms.
HM Treasury has scheduled the 2026 Budget for Wednesday, Oct. 28. The specific apprenticeship proposal has not been confirmed as a Budget measure.
