All UK employers with annual salary bills of more than £3 million now pay an apprenticeship levy.
If you’re an employer in Scotland who already has apprenticeship programmes in your organisation, apprenticeship funding will continue to be administered by Skills Development Scotland through contracted learning providers and direct employer contracts.
If you don’t currently have any apprenticeship programmes, this is your opportunity to discover how work-based learning can drive your organisation forward in terms of performance and productivity. Read all about our Foundation, Modern and Graduate Apprenticeship programmes.
Flexible Workforce Development Fund
If you’re an employer paying the apprenticeship levy in Scotland, you could apply for up to £15,000 towards the cost of training your workforce.
The Scottish Government’s Flexible Workforce Development Fund (FWDF) is available to employers across the private, public and third sectors subject to the UK Government’s Apprenticeship Levy.
The deadline for Levy-paying employers to make an application is the end of July 2025/2026.
The Flexible Workforce Development Fund (FWDF) is administered by the Scottish Funding Council on behalf of the Scottish Government.
Tools and resources
Read more about the apprenticeship levy and its background on the Scottish Government website. They have also published a Seven things you need to know about apprenticeships guide featuring the levy. You can also view our levy FAQs below.
For information on paying the levy read HMRC’s published guidance.
To understand the difference in apprenticeship policy across the four home nations you can view the SQA’s interactive table.
Get in touch
We can help you maximise apprenticeship opportunities for your organisation. For free support contact our employer helpline on 0800 783 6000.
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