Government-funded · Level 4 · For employers
Train your team to run your business on AI. The government pays.
Turn the staff you already have into the people who automate your admin, speed up your sales and give you back hours every week, with up to £18,000 of training per person funded by government.
- £18,000 of funded training per learner
- 0% employer NI on apprentices under 25
- 100% online, around the working week
- No course fees for learners
- Level 4 national qualification
- Free funding check, confirmed in writing
Why now
Your team already uses AI. Nobody has trained them to use it well.
Most people pick up AI tools by trial and error, saving a few minutes here and there and missing most of what the tools can do. Structured training turns that into real gains: processes that run themselves, quicker answers for customers and decisions based on proper numbers.
Win back hours every week
Quotes, follow-ups, reports and data entry: the repetitive work that fills the week is exactly what an AI-trained team learns to automate.
Grow without adding headcount
Handle more customers and more orders with the same team. Every workflow your apprentice builds keeps saving time after the course ends.
Use AI safely
Data protection, accuracy checks and responsible use are built into the qualification, so your business adopts AI with guardrails, not guesswork.
- Trades
- Construction
- Retail
- E-commerce
- Hospitality
- Salons & beauty
- Professional services
- Logistics
- Manufacturing
- Healthcare
- Charities
Learning by doing
They learn on your real work
The apprenticeship is applied. Your learner improves real processes in your business, and those improvements become the evidence for their qualification.
Trades & construction
Automated quoting from site notes, job scheduling, compliance paperwork and chasing invoices.
Retail & e-commerce
Order-to-dispatch workflows, customer messaging, product descriptions, stock and sales dashboards.
Professional services
Client onboarding, document drafting and review, meeting notes into actions, CRM clean-up.
Hospitality, health & beauty
Booking and enquiry handling, review responses, rota planning, scheduled marketing content.
See exactly what AI could do for your business
A free report written around your company. No cost, no obligation.
The numbers
Who pays for the training
It depends on the apprentice's age when they start and whether your business pays the Apprenticeship Levy (only employers with a pay bill over £3 million do). The learner never pays anything.
| Your business | Apprentice aged 16–24 | Apprentice aged 25+ |
|---|---|---|
| Doesn't pay the levy (most SMEs) | 100% government funded |
Government funds 95%. You pay around £900, or a levy transfer can cover it |
| Pays the levy | Paid from your levy account |
Paid from your levy account |
| Pays the levy, but the pot runs short | Government funds 100% |
Government funds 75% |
Based on the apprenticeship funding rules for starts from 1 August 2026, up to the £18,000 funding band. Rules can change.
0% NI
Employer NI relief on apprentices under 25
You pay no employer National Insurance on an apprentice under 25 earning up to £50,270 a year. Staff under 21 already get this rate, so the new saving is biggest for apprentices aged 21 to 24.
What that can look like each year
- £24,785 salary (full-time National Living Wage)
- up to £2,968
- £30,000 salary
- up to £3,750
- £40,000 salary
- up to £5,250
For an apprentice aged 21–24 in 2026/27: 15% of salary above £5,000. Illustrative only. Smaller employers may already have NI covered by Employment Allowance, so check with your payroll provider.
Funding calculator
What would it cost your business?
Tell us how many people you'd like to train. You'll see the value of the training and what, if anything, your business would pay.
Your estimate
Employer National Insurance
Get these figures in my free AI reportIndicative only, based on the 2026/27 funding rules. We confirm your exact position in writing before anything starts.
Free for employers
Get your free AI Opportunity Report
Tell us your company name. We'll research your business and send you a report written around it: where AI and automation could save your team time, which staff could qualify and exactly what the funding covers.
- Where AI could save your team time, specific to your business
- Which roles and staff could qualify for funding
- Your training value, costs and NI position
- A simple plan for getting started
The qualification
Level 4 AI & Automation Practitioner
What your learner will be able to do
- Spot where automation will genuinely save time, and where it won't
- Set up AI and automation tools, from workflow platforms to chat assistants
- Prepare and tidy the data those tools depend on
- Measure and report the time and money each improvement saves
- Apply data protection, legal and ethical rules to everything they build
How it works
We handle the admin. You get a trained team.
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Free call
15 minutes to understand your business, your goals and who on your team could benefit.
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Funding confirmed
We check eligibility for each learner and confirm what, if anything, you'd pay, in writing.
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Matched to a provider
We match you with an approved, government-registered training provider that suits your sector.
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Learning starts
The provider handles enrolment. Your learner starts on a live project in your business from day one.
Are you an employee?
Find out if you qualify and get help asking your employer to fund it.
FAQs
Questions employers ask
Is it really free?
For apprentices aged 16–24 at an employer that doesn't pay the levy, the government funds 100% of the training and assessment. For learners aged 25 and over, the employer usually pays 5%, around £900. The learner never pays.
Can I train staff I already employ?
Yes. Existing employees can do an apprenticeship as long as the role genuinely involves the work and the course teaches them something new. Many businesses start with someone who already knows their processes.
How much time does it take away from work?
Learners need protected time for training during working hours, agreed with the provider. Most of the learning is applied to real projects in your business, so the time feeds straight back into the work.
Does my learner need technical skills or qualifications?
The national standard sets no academic entry requirements. Some providers set their own, which we check when matching you. It suits curious, organised people more than coders.
Who delivers the training?
Approved training providers on the government's register. We match you with the one that best fits your business, and the qualification is awarded after an independent end-point assessment.
Do we need to be in England?
The funding described here applies to apprentices working in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run their own schemes, so ask us and we'll point you in the right direction.
Get in touch
Find out what your business qualifies for
Choose whichever is easiest. There's no cost and no obligation, and you'll leave with a clear answer on funding.
Speak to Jon
Founder. You'll talk to me, not a call centre.