Highlights
| Can apprenticeship levy funds be used to pay for English language or workplace communication training? This guide explains how employers in England can use apprenticeship funding for English and communication skills, including Functional Skills English, communication training within apprenticeship standards, and transferring unused levy funds to other employers. It also explains what the apprenticeship levy cannot fund, what options are available to non-levy-paying employers, and how manufacturing, logistics and other employers with multilingual workforces can use apprenticeship routes to address workplace communication needs. |
If you run a manufacturing site, a warehouse, or a logistics operation with a multilingual workforce, you are probably already paying for a solution to your workplace communication issues without realising it. Every levy-paying employer in England has a Digital Apprenticeship Service (DAS) account attached to their PAYE payments, and a large share of that money expires unused every year. At the same time, those same operational teams are absorbing the costs of misread instructions, repeated safety briefings, and shift handovers that fall short.
This guide breaks down what apprenticeship levy funds can and cannot cover when it comes to English and communication training, how the transfer process works if you do not pay the levy yourself, and what non-levy employers can access instead. All figures used link directly to official government sources. As the rules updated in 2026, anything published prior to this summer should be treated with caution.
How the Levy Works
Employers with an annual pay bill over £3 million pay 0.5% of that pay bill into a digital account each month through PAYE. These funds are drawn down to pay approved training providers for official apprenticeship training and assessment.
The scheme experienced several structural changes recently:
- Name and Department Update: The levy was rebranded as the Growth and Skills Levy in April 2026 and moved from the Department for Education to the Department for Work and Pensions.
- Top-Up Removal: The 10% government top-up on levy contributions ended on 1 August 2026.
- 12-Month Expiry Window: Funds entering your account now expire after 12 months rather than 24. Money already in your account prior to 1 August keeps its 24-month window and is drawn down first.
You can verify all current parameters on the government’s apprenticeship funding guidance page.
If you’d rather skip straight to a conversation about what this could look like for your team, our English for Manufacturing and English for Logistics programmes are built around exactly this kind of funding route.
Get in touch and we’ll help you work out what you’re eligible for before you commit to anything.
What the Levy Can and Cannot Fund
To be direct, you cannot use levy funds to buy a standalone, off-the-shelf business English course. Apprenticeship funding only goes to training delivered by a provider on the official Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers as part of an approved apprenticeship standard. Booking an isolated conversational English workshop and invoicing your DAS account is not permitted.
However, the levy can fund practical communication development in two specific ways:
- Functional Skills English: When an apprentice on a Level 3 or higher standard does not hold a GCSE (or equivalent) at grade C/4 in English, they must work towards Level 2 Functional Skills English during their apprenticeship. This training is fully covered by apprenticeship funding and delivered during working hours. For a Level 2 apprenticeship, the requirement is to work towards Level 2. This creates a fully funded route to structured language support for existing staff, provided it connects to an apprenticeship standard they are actively completing.
- Communication Embedded in Standards: Many standards relevant to operational teams, including Team Leader / Supervisor, Warehouse Operative, Customer Service Practitioner, and Business Administrator, assess communication skills directly as part of their core competencies. A shift supervisor working through a Team Leader apprenticeship receives funded workplace communication training as a core part of their qualification.
Eligible vs Ineligible Funding at a Glance
- Ineligible: Standalone English courses, ad-hoc language workshops, unaccredited tutoring.
- Eligible: Level 2 Functional Skills English modules inside an apprenticeship, communication competencies built into approved apprenticeship standards.
Levy-funded training works best when attached to an authentic apprenticeship pathway, such as onboarding new starters or moving existing staff into supervisory roles. If you need broader support, such as upskilling a full shift of production operatives who need spoken English without taking an apprenticeship, the transfer route or non-levy funding options are more realistic starting points.
The Transfer Route: Using Unused Levy
Employers who pay the levy but do not spend all of it can transfer up to 50% of their annual levy funds to another business, such as a supplier or supply chain partner.
A transfer is not a one-off payment. Committing to a transfer means agreeing to fund that apprenticeship monthly for its entire duration, which must be a minimum of 12 months. You can review allowance calculations on the GOV.UK transfer guidance page.
For larger manufacturers or retailers with smaller supply partners, this is a practical tool. If your logistics or production partners face similar communication barriers on the shop floor, transferring unused levy funds to cover their apprenticeship training costs them nothing while making your shared operations safer and more efficient.
Options for Non-Levy Employers
Most UK businesses fall below the £3 million pay bill threshold. However, government co-investment and incentives make apprenticeship funding accessible to smaller teams:
- Co-Investment for Staff Aged 25 and Over: For apprenticeships starting from 1 August 2026, non-levy employers pay a 25% co-investment rate towards training costs, with the government covering the remaining 75%.
- Full Funding for Younger Staff (Aged 16 to 24): Training for apprentices aged 16 to 24 at non-levy businesses is 100% government-funded, meaning 0% employer co-investment.
- Hiring Incentive: Employers taking on a new apprentice aged 16 to 24 starting on or after 1 October 2026 can claim an additional £2,000 hiring grant.
A smaller haulage firm or manufacturer hiring a younger warehouse worker can access fully funded training alongside required Functional Skills English without paying training costs.
Practical Examples
Example 1: The Manufacturer
A mid-sized food manufacturer with a £9 million pay bill pays the levy and has unspent funds approaching their 12-month expiry date.
- Internal Progression: Twelve production line workers, several with limited written and spoken English, show strong potential for team leader positions. Enrolling them on a Team Leader / Supervisor apprenticeship funds their career progression alongside their Functional Skills English and communication training as part of the core qualification.
- Supply Chain Transfer: The business works with a smaller regional co-packer operating a multilingual shift pattern. The co-packer does not pay the levy. The manufacturer transfers part of its expiring funds (up to the 50% limit) to the co-packer, allowing three of their workers to complete the same training at no cost to the co-packer.
Example 2: The Logistics Operator
A haulage business with a £2.4 million pay bill sits below the levy threshold. Half their warehouse team speak English as an additional language, leading to communication gaps during shift handovers and safety sign-offs.
- Staff Aged Under 25: The business enrols younger workers on a Warehouse Operative apprenticeship with 100% government funding. They claim the £2,000 hiring grant for new starters, while embedded Functional Skills English builds clear workplace communication skills.
- Staff Aged 25 and Over: For workers over 25, the business pays the 25% co-investment rate, while the government pays the remaining 75%.
Next Steps
Apprenticeship funding allows businesses to use existing budgets rather than requesting extra training funds. However, programmes must be set up properly against an approved standard, delivered by an accredited provider, and matched to employees on a genuine career pathway.
Most organisations benefit from reviewing both funding options together: finding out what can be covered by the levy through an apprenticeship, and what needs direct training funding to support the rest of the workforce.
If you would like to discuss which members of your team qualify for funded routes, book a call with our team today. We help businesses navigate funding routes as part of every project.
