Train your team through funded apprenticeships
The employer maths
- £0cost to the learner — nothing deducted from wages
- 6 hrs/weekaround the job — no career break, no project on hold
- 15 monthsof training, then a portfolio assessment — no exams
Levy payers: from 1 August 2026, unspent funds expire after 12 months instead of 24 — training you've already paid for is use-or-lose.
4.8 / 5
900+ learners trained
Trusted by teams at
Grow vs buy
Your next analysts already work for you
Hiring imports tool skills, not context. Training converts the business knowledge you already pay for into data and AI capability.
Domain knowledge is the expensive half
An analyst who already knows your business, your customers and your systems gets to value faster than any external hire. Your people have that half — training adds the rest.
Buy scarce specialisms. Grow the rest.
Save hiring for the genuinely scarce roles, and grow the analytical layer from people you already trust — placed at the level that fits, from non-technical starters to systems builders. And when buying is right, you can hire trained talent from us.
People you invest in stay
Funded development that fits the job is a real lever on morale and retention — and the attrition risk runs the opposite way to hiring in.
Programmes · Levels 3–5
One domain, many routes in
Six programmes, Levels 3 to 5 — professional development for working adults, not school-leaver schemes. A route for almost anyone on your team; not sure where someone fits? That's what the first conversation is for.
Data & AI Essentials
Level 3
Non-technical people who work with data — the starting point.
Learn moreAdvanced Data & AI
Level 4
People who already work with data, ready to lead with it.
Learn moreAI Transformation
Level 4
HR, ops, marketing or finance — any role going AI-fluent.
Learn moreData & AI Strategy
Level 4
Governance or ops people ready for the strategic seat.
Learn moreData & AI Governance
Level 4
Compliance, risk and legal teams — data and AI accountability.
Learn moreData Engineering
Level 5
Experienced analysts ready to build the systems — SQL, Python, Airflow, Terraform (prior experience needed).
Learn moreThe delivery model
Why businesses choose iO-Sphere
Coached by practitioners, not lecturers
A named bench of industry coaches who've done the work. They coach, they don't lecture — honest feedback and real guidance, applied to your team's problems.
Practice where it's safe to get it wrong
Where a programme runs on Prism — a simulated company built on 500M+ rows of real data — your team builds judgment before it counts on your data.
Capability you can see in the work
Every project lands on a real problem in your team, so the work pays back while they learn. A portfolio builds from month one — evidence long before the assessment.
Funding · 2026-27 rules
How the funding works
Two routes, depending on the size of your business. Both are £0 to the learner, and any enrolment you start now lands in the 2026-27 rules below. Levy payers, note the clock: from 1 August 2026, unspent funds expire after 12 months instead of 24.
Pay bill over £3 million
You pay the levy — use it
You already contribute 0.5% of your pay bill into a digital training account. iO-Sphere programmes draw from it directly — no new budget, no VAT. Unspent funds are reclaimed by government, and from 1 August 2026 the window to spend them halves from 24 to 12 months. If your pot runs out, training beyond it is co-funded at 25% from the same date.
Pay bill under £3 million
Not a levy payer? Even stronger.
From 1 August 2026, apprentices aged 16 to 24 are fully government-funded — £0 to you. For learners 25 and over, the government covers 95% and you co-invest 5%. You also pay no employer National Insurance on apprentices under 25 earning up to £50,270 a year. Smaller employer? See apprenticeships for SMEs.
Also worth knowing: levy payers can transfer up to 50% of their annual funds to other employers — we help arrange these. And from 1 October 2026 there is a £2,000 hiring payment for non-levy employers taking on a new apprentice aged 16 to 24 (it can be withdrawn by government in-year, so confirm availability when you plan). Full detail in our Growth & Skills Levy guide.
0.5%
of pay bill is what levy payers already contribute — programmes draw from it directly, no new budget
12 months
to spend levy funds from 1 August 2026 (down from 24) — then they're reclaimed
50%
of annual levy funds can be transferred to other employers — we help arrange these
Per learner
What it looks like per person
£0 to the learner. Each place sits in a government funding band covering training and end-point assessment. Nothing is deducted from wages.
Six hours a week, around the job. One fixed weekly coaching session; the rest flexes around live work. No career break, no project on hold.
15 months, then assessment. Around 15 months of training plus a 3-month End-Point Assessment — assessed on a portfolio of real work, no exams.
We handle the paperwork. DfE registration, training plans, progress reporting and assessment coordination — and no clawback if a learner leaves partway.
Getting started
How a team enrolment works
A conversation, not a pitch
Tell us your team and your goals. We come back with a tailored recommendation — not a sales pitch — within one working day.
Eligibility and funding check
We confirm your levy position, check each person qualifies, and set out exactly what is funded. We handle the paperwork.
Place each person at the right level
From non-technical starters at Level 3 to experienced analysts building systems at Level 5 — every route runs the same coached, applied model.
Delivery you can see
One fixed coaching session a week, projects on your real problems, and a portfolio building from month one — so progress is visible in the work, not just in reports.
Employer proof
What employers — and their people — say
“iO-Sphere helped us improve our data team's efficiency through better problem structuring, critical thinking, and being better storytellers. Better prioritisation, stronger business understanding, and deeper relationships with stakeholders.”
Elly Evans
Director of Analytics, Motorway
“We enrolled two of our analysts and both came back more capable and more confident. The programme paid for itself inside a quarter. We're already planning to put a third person through.”
Sarah Holt
L&D Manager
“I'm in HR, so I went in thinking most of it wouldn't apply to me — but I ended up automating parts of our HR process and building a system that flags people ready for promotion. Would recommend if you're in a non-technical role.”
Steph
HR, BVNK
Questions
Employer FAQs
Can we put existing staff through, or only new hires?
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Both. Most employers use funded programmes to develop existing staff — anyone employed in England under PAYE can qualify, and these are Level 3 to Level 5 professional programmes, not school-leaver schemes. New hires qualify too, and from 1 October 2026 non-levy employers can claim a £2,000 hiring payment for taking on a new apprentice aged 16 to 24 (the payment can be withdrawn by government in-year, so confirm availability when you plan).
What does it cost per person?
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It is £0 to the learner in every case. If your annual pay bill is over £3 million you pay the levy, and places draw from funds you have already contributed. If it is under £3 million, apprentices aged 16 to 24 are fully government-funded from 1 August 2026, and for learners 25 and over the government covers 95% while you co-invest 5%. No VAT on any route.
How many people can we enrol at once?
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From one person to a group. Teams of five or ten are common — we help you place each person at the level and focus that fits their role, and recommend how to phase starts. Tell us the team and we will come back with a shape.
How much manager time does it take?
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Active involvement gets the most from the programme: regular one-to-ones with the learner and workplace projects that apply the new skills. The fixed weekly coaching session is predictable to plan around, and we provide guidance to keep the manager side straightforward.
Do they need a degree or a technical background?
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No degree needed. Routes run from Level 3 for non-technical starters to Level 5 for experienced analysts (the Level 5 route builds on prior experience). Learners need to be 19 or over, employed in England under PAYE, with the right to work in the UK and no substantively similar qualification already held — we confirm eligibility with you on the call.
What if someone leaves during the programme?
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There is no financial penalty or clawback to you. If a learner leaves or withdraws, the funding simply stops — let us know as soon as possible and we handle the administrative side.
Is our business too small for this?
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No — smaller employers have the strongest funding position of all. If your pay bill is under £3 million, apprentices aged 16 to 24 are fully government-funded from 1 August 2026. If you have never employed an apprentice before, we handle registration and paperwork end to end.
Talk to us about your team
Tell us about your team and we'll come back with a tailored recommendation — not a sales pitch. Response within one working day.
Put a team through — it starts with a conversation
We'll check eligibility and funding, recommend the right level for each person, and handle the paperwork. No pressure, no pitch.