Leveraging apprenticeship reforms can help you, as CSA members, build capability, boost compliance, and manage emerging skill gaps in areas like operations, consumer duty, and dealing with the most vulnerable in society.
So how does the budget affect Apprenticeships and what are the key changes and updates for members?
We know most of our members are non-levy payers so we wanted to highlight the changes relevant to you, and as part of this remind you that apprenticeship schemes have ZERO training cost, low administration requirements (we do it for you!), and are a great pathway to build early career talent.
From August 2026, training and assessment for apprentices aged 16–24 will be 100% government-funded, no co-investment needed.
SMEs employing apprentices under 25 also save on employer National Insurance contributions, offering further payroll relief.
For our levy paying members, after reviewing the changes, we want to encourage you to scale up pipeline flow and align apprenticeship starts with levy availability. This will help to close operational skills gaps before funds expire.
Employers will now only receive exactly what they pay in, reducing their training budget by ~10%.
Unused levy funds will no longer roll over for 24 months—strict “use it or lose it” policy requires quicker planning.
Once levy funds are depleted, the government contribution drops from 95% to 75%, raising the employer's share from 5% to 25%.
Short, targeted modules in high-demand skills like digital and compliance can improve agility and reduce training inertia.
For more information on how you can utilise the apprenticeship levy for both non levy payers and levy payers, please get in touch – harvey.watson@csa-uk.com.