Off-the-Job Training Rules Since August 2025: The 20% Rule vs the New Minimum Hours

The 20% off-the-job training rule no longer applies to apprentices who started on or after 1 August 2025. Instead, each apprenticeship standard has a published minimum number of off-the-job training hours, which no programme can go below 187 hours even after prior learning is recognised, and the statutory minimum duration fell from 12 months to 8 months. Apprentices who started before that date stay on the old 20% policy.

The confusion is understandable: the GOV.UK page for apprentices on pay and conditions still says that at least 20% of normal working hours must be spent on training. The authoritative text is the Apprenticeship off-the-job training guidance, version 6 (August 2026), aligned with the 2026 to 2027 funding rules. This article compares both policies using that guidance.

Old and new policy side by side

How the old 20% rule worked

Under the previous policy, an apprentice had to spend at least 20% of normal working hours, capped at 30 hours a week for funding purposes, on off-the-job training over the planned practical period. The guidance explains that 20% originally broadly equated to one day a week, when most programmes were delivered by day release. The calculation deducted 5.6 weeks of statutory leave per 52 weeks and multiplied the remaining weeks by 6 hours (20% of 30):

• 12 months (52 weeks): 52 − 5.6 = 46.4 weeks × 6 = 278.4, so 278 hours.
• 18 months (78 weeks): 78 − 8.4 = 69.6 weeks × 6 = 417.6, so 418 hours.
• 28 months (121 weeks): 121 − 13 = 108 weeks × 6 = 648 hours.

The drawback was that the requirement rose with duration: a 14-month programme needed at least 326 hours, against 278 for 12 months. Carry-in learners, and those returning from a break who originally started before 1 August 2025, still follow this policy.

The current rule: published minimum hours

For starts from 1 August 2025, the guidance lists three changes. A minimum volume of off-the-job hours is published for each standard, replacing the percentage calculation. The link between hours and duration is removed, so training can be delivered over any duration of at least 8 months. And part-time apprentices no longer get an automatic extension, although working hours must be considered so expectations are realistic. The minimum now appears on the front of each standard on the Skills England website.

How the minimums were set

The government used actual delivery data from completers with no prior learning (2023/24 ILR data) and set the minimum slightly below the median. For ST0006 Level 3 Lead Adult Care Worker, completers received 432 hours on average, so the minimum became 370 hours. Where no completer data existed, 75% of the typical duration was used: ST1398 Level 6 Machine Learning Engineer has a typical duration of 24 months, 75% is 18 months, and 20% of that gives 418 hours. A transition period with temporarily reduced minimums for 73 standards covered starts from 1 August to 31 December 2025 and ended on 1 January 2026.

Why 187 hours?

Carrying the 20% formula into an 8-month programme would have lowered the threshold from 278 to 187 hours, which is 20% of 8 months. The guidance says accepting 91 fewer hours was not considered appropriate, so standards got their own figures, but 187 hours remains the floor: a programme with less than 187 hours is non-compliant, and recognition of prior learning cannot take it below that.

Prior learning, documents and evidence

• Prior learning reduces the minimum: with a published 300 hours and 50 hours of evidenced prior learning, the learner’s minimum becomes 250 hours. The price must fall too.
• Same figure on three documents: planned hours, after prior learning, go on the apprenticeship agreement, the training plan and the individualised learner record.
• Delivering less than planned: if delivered hours still meet the minimum but fall short of the plan, the provider produces a statement signed by employer and apprentice, within 12 weeks of completion.
• Active learning: training must take place at least every calendar month, or every 3 calendar months for front-loaded and block release models.
• Audit risk: failing the minimum policy requirement leads to a 100% clawback of funding from the provider.

What counts as off-the-job training (unchanged)

The definition did not change. An activity counts if it passes 4 tests: it teaches new knowledge, skills and behaviours; it is directly relevant to the standard; it takes place in normal working hours; and it is not an excluded activity.

• Counts: teaching of theory, practical training such as shadowing, mentoring and industry visits, learning support, writing assignments, and revision.
• Does not count: initial assessment and onboarding, standalone English and maths qualifications, progress reviews, exams and testing, training outside normal working hours, and training not required by the standard.
• By exception outside hours: the apprentice must agree and be compensated with time off in lieu or extra pay, and most training cannot be delivered this way.
• Location is not the test: training can happen at the apprentice’s workstation, in a classroom or online, but not by self-directed online learning alone.

When circumstances change mid-programme

Section 8 of the guidance answers the questions HR teams raise most once an apprenticeship is under way. Under both the old and the new policy, a change in the apprentice’s working hours does not change the required volume of off-the-job training, although a big cut in hours may mean the plan has to be adjusted so training still fits within working time.

• Change of employer: the new employer signs a new apprenticeship agreement with the apprentice. Training can continue if the move is complete within 4 weeks; otherwise a break in learning of up to 8 weeks can be used before withdrawal.
• Redundancy: funding support continues for up to 12 weeks while the apprentice looks for another job, and the programme may be funded to completion if at least 75% of the training is done or the apprentice is within 6 months of the final day of training.
• Parental leave: the apprentice can take a break in learning or use statutory keep in touch (KIT) days; only training done on those days counts as off-the-job training.
• Break in learning: no off-the-job training during the break; on return, the employer must re-plan and revise the end dates on the agreement and training plan.
• Change of standard: this is treated as withdrawing and starting again, so eligibility, minimum duration and minimum hours are reassessed.

Need to check a particular standard or scenario? Ask the Apprenticeships in England knowledge base, for example “Is there an absolute minimum number of off-the-job training hours, even after recognising an apprentice’s prior learning?”, and the answer will quote guidance version 6.

Source: Apprenticeship off-the-job training guidance, version 6. The minimum hours for a given standard are published on that standard on the Skills England website.