Skills Radar
Levy Plan ahead

Apprenticeship units and foundation apprenticeships go live

Levy money can now buy something shorter than an apprenticeship.

From April 2026, two new products became fundable: short modular apprenticeship units, and foundation apprenticeships.

Units are standalone blocks of training rather than full standards. The first wave targets nationally critical priorities. Approved examples include three Level 5 AI Leadership units at £750 each covering AI strategy, AI adoption and governance, and AI-led organisational transformation; Solar PV Installation and Maintenance and EV Charging Point Installation at £950 each; Welding, mechanised at £2,100; Battery Manufacturing and Electrical Fitting and Assembly at £1,650; and Permanent Modular Building Assembly at £3,200. They appear on the Skills England register filtered by programme type.

Foundation apprenticeships are 8-month Level 2 programmes aimed at 16 to 21 year olds, and some 22 to 24 year olds with an EHC plan or care experience. Approved routes now include Building Services Engineering, Engineering and Manufacturing, Finishing Trades, Hardware Network and Infrastructure, Onsite Trades, Software and Data, Health and Social Care, Catering and Hospitality, and Retail Service, Supply and Administration, funded between £3,000 and £4,500.

What it changed from: levy funds could only be spent on full apprenticeship standards. Employers with rapid skills-change needs, project-based workforces or staff who could not commit to a year-plus programme had no fundable option.

What follows: more ways to use a levy balance before the new 12-month expiry bites. It also adds real complexity for providers, who now manage three product types with different rules, durations and funding arrangements running in parallel.

Sources

Skills England apprenticeship register ↗ GOV.UK — Funding rules for apprenticeships collection ↗ FE Week ↗ Apprenticeship Service help centre ↗ GOV.UK apprenticeship funding rules ↗
All articles Published 1 April 2026. Always check the source before acting on a compliance deadline.

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