Report reveals over £3bn in business training money sits unused, with a major lack of understanding UK Skills Levy

Underutilisation of the Apprenticeship Levy saw over £3.3 billion in unused funds returned to the Treasury between 2019 and 2022.

A new study launched from The Coders Guild, experts in digital skills training, reveals a critical ‘perception gap’ that is causing UK businesses to miss out on billions of pounds in workforce development funding, even as AI and automation rapidly reshape the labour market.

• Employer investment in training has declined 18.5 per cent in real terms since 2011, reducing workforce capability and competitiveness.
• Nearly half of UK workers undertaking online training now pay for it themselves, despite being significantly more likely to leave employers who do not support their development.
• AI Demand Tripled: UK job postings requiring AI literacy nearly tripled between mid-2023 and late 2024, yet many employers fear technological change may render current skills obsolete.
• 51 per cent of apprenticeship starts are now for professionals aged 25 and over.

Evidence consistently shows that UK employers train a smaller proportion of their workforce than many European counterparts. As employer-provided benefits decline, workers are paying for their own learning. However, the business risk is often overlooked: employees who must self-fund essential development are significantly more likely to leave, damaging retention and institutional knowledge.

The whitepaper argues that the transition from the Apprenticeship Levy to a broader Skills Levy has expanded opportunities for mid-career development and role transitions. Yet, many business leaders still view apprenticeships as entry-level “CSR projects” rather than strategic assets for digital and AI-native upskilling.

Crispin Read, Founder of The Coders Guild, said: “Too many employers still don’t understand how the skills levy works – or how much support is already available to them.

“We’re seeing businesses pay into a system designed to fund their own workforce development, and then let that money go to waste. That’s a huge missed opportunity. Instead of tapping into fully funded apprenticeships and training, some employers are asking individuals to pay for the very skills their business depends on. It’s not just unfair – it’s inefficient. The government is literally offering funding to build skills and close the talent gap, but if organisations don’t take advantage of it, we end up deepening inequality and losing potential from people who can’t afford to self-fund.”

The urgency for upskilling is driven by the rapid adoption of AI. Tasks such as basic coding and data entry are increasingly handled by tools already generating over 41 per cent of new code in some contexts.

Coders Guild’s whitepaper serves as a vital roadmap for UK organisations navigating the “Digital Native Dividend,” demonstrating how modern apprenticeships act as a pre-paid engine for executive-level growth rather than a resource drain.

By debunking the ‘stale myths’ of entry-level training and highlighting the £18,000 net benefit that AI-fluent apprentices can bring to a business, the report provides actionable recommendations for employers, government, and individuals to reclaim lost productivity.

In an economy where AI literacy has become a core competency for 45 per cent of global employers, the research outlines how to transform the Skills Levy from a complex administrative burden into a high-performance tool for long-term resilience.

To read the full whitepaper click here.