Apprenticeship funding evidence requirements
The evidence that must exist for every apprentice, when it has to be collected, what auditors accept, and the records that get rejected at audit.
The principle
Evidence must exist, be dated, and have been created at the point the thing it evidences happened. Evidence assembled afterwards to support a claim already made is the single fastest route to a finding.
It must also be capable of being understood by someone outside your organisation. An internal code that means something to your team and nothing to an auditor is not evidence.
Eligibility
Right to work and residency, evidenced before the start date. Date of birth. Employment status and contracted hours. Prior qualifications, checked against the personal learning record where available, with the assessment of prior learning documented and its effect on the price recorded.
Where the employer does not pay the levy, the reservation. Where the apprentice is a care leaver or has an education, health and care plan, the evidence supporting any additional payment.
Training and delivery
A signed training plan. Off-the-job training records showing what was delivered, when, and that it fell within paid working hours. Progress reviews with all three parties at least every twelve weeks. Any break in learning, recorded at the time with its start and end.
Records of any change: employer, standard version, price, planned end date.
What gets rejected
Timesheets with no description of what the training was. Off-the-job logged in round numbers that do not vary. Training plans signed by the provider only. Prior learning assessments that conclude no reduction for every apprentice without explaining why. Progress reviews recorded on the same day for an entire cohort.
Common questions
Is an electronic signature acceptable on a training plan?
Yes, provided it identifies the signatory and the date. What matters is that all three parties signed and that the date is before delivery started.
How long must evidence be kept?
At least until the end of the funding year in which the apprenticeship ends, plus the retention period in your funding agreement. In practice, six years is the safe assumption.
Does the employer need to hold copies?
The employer should hold the apprenticeship agreement, the contract of employment and evidence that the apprentice had time to train. The provider needs access to all of it.
Track 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.