UK Plans Higher Training Costs for Older Workers to Steer Apprenticeships Towards Young People

London: Employers in England may soon pay more to train older staff than young apprentices. The Guardian reports that ministers are drawing up an overhaul of Labour’s apprenticeship funding system to tackle the country’s youth jobs crisis.

Under the proposals, the cost to businesses of training a worker aged over 25 would rise by 25 per cent. The aim is to push employers to spend their training budgets on young people instead. The plans are still being worked on, and ministers have not formally announced them.

The move comes amid long-running concern that the apprenticeship system has drifted away from school leavers and young adults. In recent years, older workers have made up a growing share of apprenticeship starts, close to half in 2022/23. Many employers have used their levy funds to upskill existing staff rather than recruit new young trainees. Critics have also argued that some private training providers have benefited from directing state-funded courses at more experienced employees.

The government has already introduced several measures in favour of younger apprentices this year. Since 1 August 2026, training for eligible apprentices aged 16 to 24 has been fully funded, with no employer contribution. Smaller employers that do not pay the apprenticeship levy can now claim up to £2,000 for each new apprentice they hire in that age group, for apprenticeships starting from 1 October 2026. Employers also pay no National Insurance contributions for apprentices under 25. A separate £3,000 grant supports firms that hire 18 to 24-year-olds who have been on Universal Credit for more than six months.

These measures form part of the government’s pledge to create 50,000 additional apprenticeships for young people and to expand its Youth Guarantee. The new proposals would add a financial penalty for training older workers to these incentives, a step likely to draw pushback from employers who rely on apprenticeships to retrain experienced staff.