Glossary
Co-investment
Last updated
Part of our topic guides on Government-Funded Data & AI Training and Data & AI Apprenticeships.
Co-investment is the slice of an apprenticeship's training cost that an employer pays out of pocket when government funding doesn't cover it in full. For most employers, that slice is 5% of the price: the government pays the other 95%. However, the exact split depends on whether you pay the levy, and the age of the apprentice.
Find your rate
Any apprenticeship start you plan now lands in the 2026-27 funding year (starts from 1 August 2026), so these are the rates to plan against:
| Your situation | You pay | Government pays |
|---|---|---|
| ANY employer (levy or not), apprentice aged 16 to 24 at the start | £0 | 100% |
| Non-levy employer, apprentice aged 25 or over | 5% | 95% |
| Levy payer whose funds have run out, apprentice aged 25 or over | 25% | 75% |
Two definitions that decide which row is yours. "Non-levy employer" means your annual pay bill is under £3 million: the threshold that determines whether you pay the levy at all, never a headcount test. And note the age carve-out on the 25% rate: a 29 July 2026 amendment to the 2026-27 rules extended full funding to 16 to 24 year olds at levy payers whose funds have run out (paragraph 214.2), so the 25% applies only to apprentices 25 and over.
The 1 August 2026 boundary
These rates took effect on 1 August 2026 and the rules were amended on 29 July 2026, days before they went live. Before that date, non-levy employers and levy payers with insufficient funds both paid 5% (government 95%), and full funding applied only to apprentices aged 16 to 21, plus those aged 22 to 24 with an EHC plan or leaving care. The two changes worth knowing: the full-funding band widened to 16 to 24 at every employer type, and the levy-exhausted rate for 25+ apprentices rose from 5% to 25%.
Is the rate ever the real obstacle?
Rarely, in our experience. On the rates above, a full, five-figure data or AI apprenticeship typically costs an employer only a small fraction of its real value, and for many under-25 hires, nothing at all. We'd rather employers spend that headroom deciding whether the ROLE genuinely needs the training, checking it against the standard's actual knowledge, skills and behaviours rather than a job title, than ruling themselves out on price before they've looked. The funding rarely turns out to be the blocker; capability and fit are.
And an employer that doesn't pay the levy isn't shut out. Co-investment is one route; a levy transfer, where a larger employer shares up to 50% of its unused levy funds, is the other, and it can take even the 5% to zero. Apprenticeship funding rules now sit with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), with standards maintained by Skills England.