Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to help increase apprenticeship uptake among small businesses.

The government is transforming the apprenticeships levy into a new growth and skills levy, which will deliver greater flexibility to employers, more opportunities for young people and support the industrial strategy.

In August 2025, we introduced new foundation apprenticeships to give young people a route into careers in critical sectors, enabling them to earn a wage while developing vital skills. They are underpinned by additional funding for employers of up to £2,000 to contribute to the extra costs of supporting someone at the beginning of their career.

We are investing an additional £725 million to deliver the next phase of the growth and skills levy and meet our ambition to support 50,000 more young people into apprenticeships. We will expand foundation apprenticeships into sectors that traditionally recruit young people and launch a pilot with Mayoral Strategic Authorities to better connect young people to local apprenticeship opportunities.

From April 2026, employers will also be able to access short, flexible training courses to help respond quickly to evolving skills needs. The first wave of these courses will be called apprenticeship units, and they will be available in critical skills areas such as artificial intelligence, digital and engineering.

The government will fully fund apprenticeship training for non-levy paying employers (essentially SMEs) for all eligible people aged 16-24 from the next academic year, to boost small business starts and prioritise funding to young people.

To support employers of all sizes to offer apprenticeships the government also pays £1,000 to both employers and providers for apprentices aged 16-18, and for apprentices aged 19-24 who have an EHCP or have been, or are, in local authority care. Additionally, employers are not required to pay anything towards employees’ National Insurance for all apprentices aged up to age 25 (when the employee’s wage is below £50,270 a year).