Ministers in England are drawing up proposals to change the way apprenticeship training is funded so that employers would pay more to train someone aged over 25 than a younger apprentice.
Under the plan, the cost of training a worker over the age of 25 would be increased by 25%, a deliberate adjustment intended to encourage businesses to hire and train younger people. The proposals would amount to a significant overhaul of the current apprenticeship funding arrangements introduced under the Labour government.
The government frames the measures as part of an effort to address a worsening youth jobs situation by redirecting employer investment into younger trainees. Increasing the relative cost of training older workers is intended to create a financial incentive for firms to prioritise apprenticeships for younger people.
The policy would change the balance of incentives for employers, making it relatively cheaper to take on and develop younger apprentices while raising the cost of upskilling older staff. How businesses, training providers and other stakeholders respond to such an incentive shift is likely to influence both apprenticeship take-up and wider workforce training patterns.
Ministers are understood to be at the planning stage; details on how the surcharge would be implemented, the precise age bands affected and any exemptions or transitional arrangements have not been published. The proposal would represent a notable reworking of the existing apprenticeship funding framework and is likely to prompt debate about its impact on employers and older workers.