What a funded programme costs
You pay nothing. What your employer pays depends on your age when you start and on whether your employer pays the Growth & Skills Levy.
What you pay
£0, in every case. Nothing is deducted from your wages, and your cost does not depend on what you earn.
What your employer pays
An employer pays the levy if its annual pay bill, counting any connected companies or charities, is over £3 million. It is about pay bill, not the number of staff. These rules apply to programmes starting from August 2026.
| Your age when you start | Employer pays the levy | Employer doesn't pay the levy |
|---|---|---|
| Under 25 | Nothing out of pocket. Paid from its levy funds while it has them, then fully government funded. | Nothing. Fully government funded. |
| 25 or over | Paid from its levy funds. If those run out, it pays 25% and the government 75%. | 5%. The government pays 95%. |
The 25% is not a mistake: the government's funding rules set 25% for a levy payer whose funds have run out, and 5% for an employer that doesn't pay the levy.
Levy funds that enter an employer's account from August 2026 expire after 12 months if unused. Older funds keep the 24-month window.
What 5% means for each programme
Each programme has a maximum government funding value, covering the training and the end-point assessment (the final assessment). The 5% is worked out on the price agreed for you, which can be lower, for example if prior learning shortens your plan. So these are the most a non-levy employer pays. VAT is added to the employer's share.
| Programme | Funding value | Employer's 5% |
|---|---|---|
| AI Transformation (Level 4) | up to £18,000 | up to £900 |
| Advanced Data & AI (Data Analyst, Level 4) | up to £15,000 | up to £750 |
| Data & AI Essentials (Level 3) | up to £13,000 | up to £650 |
| Data & AI Strategy (Level 4) | up to £10,000 | up to £500 |
How the funding is arranged
Every employer registers on the government's apprenticeship service, which is how the funding is arranged.
How your employer pays its share
We invoice your employer for its share. It can pay up front or in instalments. If a levy payer's funds run out, we invoice its 25% once the government's funding report shows it applies.
Your employer agrees in its contract with us to pay its share before you start. If your employer won't pay its share, you can't start a funded programme with us, but one of our career-change courses may suit you instead: see "Career-change courses: what's running now".
If you leave the programme partway
There is no financial penalty or clawback for your employer. The funding stops, and an employer that doesn't pay the levy stops paying its 5%.
Not sure which applies to you?
Your admissions rep can work out whether your employer pays the levy with you and your employer on your admissions call.