An accountancy practice in England can train staff through approved apprenticeship standards: AAT supports Level 2, 3 and 4 standards for accounts assistants and technicians, and ICAEW offers a Level 4 technician route and a Level 7 route built around the ACA. For starts from 1 August 2026, a practice that does not pay the Apprenticeship Levy has the full training cost funded, up to the funding band, for apprentices aged 16 to 24 and pays 5% for older apprentices, but ICAEW says Level 7 funding is only available to narrower groups, mainly those aged 16 to 21.

Which apprenticeship routes suit an accountancy practice?

Most practices choose between a technician route and a chartered route.

  • AAT standards. AAT has supported three accounting standards: Level 2 Accounts/Finance Assistant, Level 3 Assistant Accountant and Level 4 Professional Accounting Technician, now at version 2.0. AAT provides the assessments for these versions as an approved apprenticeship assessment organisation.
  • ICAEW Level 4 Accounting Technician. An entry level programme that includes ICAEW Certificate Level exams.
  • ICAEW Level 7 Accountancy Professional. This combines the ACA with an apprenticeship. ICAEW says apprentices complete the ACA elements, record progress in an online training file and spend at least six hours a week on off the job training. They need at least 450 days of professional work experience, which does not have to include audit, and at least 30 units of Specialised Learning. The end point assessment is the Strategic Case Study exam and a Project Report.
  • ACA CTA joint programme. ICAEW and the Chartered Institute of Taxation run a joint Level 7 apprenticeship for students aiming at both the ACA and the CTA in three to four years, which suits practices with a tax specialism.

To train an ACA student, the practice must also become an ICAEW authorised training employer.

What does the practice have to provide?

GOV.UK’s guidance for employers in England sets out the core duties. The practice gives the apprentice a contract of employment, pays the wage and signs an apprenticeship agreement. The apprentice must work towards an approved apprenticeship, the training must last at least 8 months, and the job must be real and give the chance to gain the knowledge and skills needed for the assessment. Apprenticeships take from 8 months to 6 years depending on type and level.

The apprentice must be paid for time spent training or studying and must get time off during the working week for training, which can be at work, at a provider or online. If they also need English or maths qualifications for the apprenticeship, study time for those is paid within normal hours. Apprentices get the same conditions as other employees in similar roles, including holiday, sick pay and any benefits or support offered to others. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own systems, so the rules below are for England.

How is the training funded?

The Department for Education’s funding policy for new starts from 1 August 2026 sets these rates:

Employer Apprentice aged 16 to 24 at start Apprentice aged 25 or over
Does not pay the levy Government pays 100% Government pays 95%, employer 5%
Pays the levy but funds run out Government pays 100% Government pays 75%, employer 25%

Each standard sits in a funding band, and bands range from £1,500 to £27,000. The employer negotiates a price with the provider, and any cost above the band is paid in full by the employer. For levy payers, the automatic 10% top up has been removed and funds in the apprenticeship service account now expire after 12 months instead of 24. Only employers with a pay bill over £3 million pay the levy, so most practices are non levy employers; see the Apprenticeship Levy explained.

Level 7 needs extra care. ICAEW’s funding page says funding for its Level 7 apprenticeship is only available where, at the start, the individual is aged 16 to 21, is a care leaver, or is under 25 with an education, health and care plan. A graduate aged 23 would not qualify, although ICAEW points out they may still be eligible for the Level 4 route.

Are there extra payments and tax savings?

  • £1,000 employer payment. Paid in two equal instalments for apprentices aged 16 to 18, or aged 19 to 24 who have been in care or have an education, health and care plan.
  • Hiring payment. Non levy employers may be eligible for a hiring payment of up to £2,000 when recruiting new apprentices aged 16 to 24, subject to the funding rules.
  • Employer National Insurance. Section 9B of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 applies a zero rate of secondary Class 1 contributions for an apprentice aged under 25, up to the apprentice upper secondary threshold of £50,270 a year for 2026 to 2027. The employer is still treated as liable, at £0. The employer NI reliefs page explains the payroll side.

What must an apprentice be paid?

The apprentice rate of the National Minimum Wage is £8 an hour. It applies to apprentices aged 16 to 18, and to those aged 19 or over in the first year of their apprenticeship. Once an apprentice aged 19 or over completes the first year, they are entitled to the minimum wage or National Living Wage for their age. Practices should diarise that date, because the increase is easy to miss. The wider rules on pay periods and records are on the National Minimum Wage for employers page.

Which costs fall outside the funding?

Funding covers training and assessment up to the band, not everything the qualification costs. For the Level 7 route, ICAEW lists the annual student registration fee of £216 plus VAT as not covered, and says exam resits cannot be paid from apprenticeship funding. ICAEW also says fees not covered by funding must be paid by the employer and not by the apprentice. Practices should budget for these alongside study leave, supervisor time and the cost of a reviewer’s time on the apprentice’s work.

How might this work for a small practice?

Illustration only. A practice with eight staff and no levy liability hires an 18 year old school leaver on the AAT Level 3 standard and moves an existing 30 year old bookkeeper onto the Level 4 standard. Suppose each provider price is £8,000 and within the band.

  • The school leaver is under 25, so government pays the full £8,000. The practice may receive the £1,000 additional payment because the apprentice is 18, and pays no employer National Insurance on earnings up to the apprentice threshold. Pay must be at least £8 an hour during the first year.
  • The bookkeeper is over 24, so the practice pays 5%, or £400, and government pays £7,600. The bookkeeper is paid at least the rate for their age, and normal employer National Insurance applies.

Both must have paid time off for training each week, and the practice should plan supervision and review into its workload, particularly in January.

What mistakes do practices make?

  • Assuming a graduate trainee aged 22 or over will be funded on the Level 7 route.
  • Treating training time as unpaid or squeezing it out during busy periods.
  • Keeping a 19 year old on the apprentice rate after the first year.
  • Asking apprentices to pay fees that funding does not cover.
  • Using English funding rules for staff in Scotland or Wales.
  • Not setting up the apprentice National Insurance relief in payroll from the first pay day.

Apprentices who qualify will then have their own professional development duties; see CPD requirements for accountants.

Solar Protect runs fee protection schemes for accountancy and bookkeeping practices. See how our accountant schemes work or read fee protection schemes for accountants.

Sources

Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 8 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.