This means that funding for many apprenticeships for accountants and tax roles will no longer be supported unless they are aged under 21 from January 2026.

The government has set a £3bn apprenticeship budget but has changed training priorities towards more practical apprenticeships to fill urgent skills gaps.

Confirming the switch to a younger target audience for apprentices, the government said it was ‘refocusing funding away from Level 7 (masters-level) apprenticeships from January 2026, while maintaining support for those aged 16-21 and existing apprentices.

‘This will enable levy funding to be rebalanced towards training at lower levels, where it can have the greatest impact.’ 

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