Apprenticeship funding eligibility
Who can be funded for an apprenticeship in 2026/27: residency, age, employment, prior qualifications, and the changes that closed routes this year.
The four tests
An apprentice must have the right to work in England and meet the residency requirement. They must be employed, with a contract covering at least the minimum duration of the apprenticeship. They must have the time to train within paid working hours. And the apprenticeship must teach substantive new skills rather than accredit what they already do.
All four have to hold. The fourth is the one most often assumed rather than assessed, and it is where prior learning assessment does its work.
Age
There is no upper age limit for apprenticeships in general, but age now changes the funding in two specific ways. Apprentices aged 16 to 24 at employers who do not pay the levy are fully funded, with no co-investment. And Level 7 apprenticeships are closed to new starters aged 22 and over.
Age is taken at the start date, so an apprentice who turns 22 between signing and starting can move out of eligibility.
Prior qualifications
A person can be funded for an apprenticeship at the same or a lower level than a qualification they already hold, provided the apprenticeship teaches substantively different skills. What is not permitted is funding someone to be taught what they can already demonstrably do.
This must be assessed individually and documented. A blanket statement that no prior learning applies across a whole cohort is a finding waiting to happen.
What closed this year
Sixteen standards lost funding from September 2026, including Team Leader Level 3, Operations Manager Level 5 and Coaching Professional Level 5. Apprentices already started are unaffected; no new starts are permitted.
Level 7 closed to new starters aged 22 and over from January 2026.
Common questions
Can someone with a degree do a Level 3 apprenticeship?
Yes, provided the apprenticeship teaches substantively new skills in a different occupation. The assessment must be documented for that individual.
Does an apprentice have to be a new employee?
No. Existing staff can be apprentices, which is common. The same eligibility tests apply, and the prior learning assessment matters more.
What are the residency requirements?
The apprentice must have been ordinarily resident in the UK, EEA or certain other territories for at least three years before the start, subject to exceptions for some visa categories and for refugees.
What has changed recently
Live from the feed. This guide is kept in step with these.
Changed Sixteen apprenticeship standards lose funding 1 September 2026Track this yourself
Skills Radar follows every change to the funding rules, the standards register and T-Levels, with what changed, what it changed from, and what follows. Free to read.