Frequently asked questions

Apprenticeship training is government funded through the apprenticeship levy. If your annual pay bill is over £3 million you already pay the levy and can spend it on training. If you don’t pay the levy, the government funds 100% of training for apprentices aged 16 to 24 and 95% for those aged 25 and over — and a larger organisation such as an NHS Trust or local authority can transfer unspent levy to cover the remaining 5%. In most cases both the employer and the apprentice pay nothing for the training. See our funding and costs page for the detail.

The apprenticeship levy is a UK government scheme that funds apprenticeship training. Organisations with an annual payroll over £3 million pay 0.5% of it into a digital account, which they can then spend on approved apprenticeship training for new or existing staff. Unused funds expire, and employers can transfer a share of their annual funds to other organisations. If you don’t pay the levy you can still access government funding for apprenticeships. Employees never contribute.

To access funding you need an Apprenticeship Service account at accounts.manage-apprenticeships.service.gov.uk. You’ll need to be someone who can sign agreements on behalf of your organisation, a valid email address, your Companies House number, and either your Government Gateway ID or your Accounts Office reference number (a 13-character code from HMRC). Create your profile, add your PAYE scheme, connect your organisation, accept the employer agreement, then add Community Matters as your training provider and set permissions for us to create apprentice records (and to recruit apprentices, if you’d like our help). We can walk you through this on a short call.

Yes. Many of our apprentices are existing employees being upskilled into a new or bigger role. The apprenticeship must teach substantial new skills, and the person needs to spend around 6 hours a week on off-the-job learning within their working hours.

Give them time for their off-the-job learning (around 6 hours a week), a line manager or mentor who meets them regularly, and opportunities to apply what they learn. We handle the teaching, the assessments and the paperwork, and your dedicated tutor keeps you informed on progress throughout.

Yes. Our recruitment service helps you find, onboard and train new talent through our programmes, and for 16–24 year olds there are government incentives worth up to £6,000 on top of fully funded training. Email apprenticeships@communitymatters.co.uk or see recruit an apprentice.