What changed in August 2025?
Off-the-job training (OTJT) remains a vital part of every apprenticeship, ensuring that apprentices gain the knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs) they need to become fully competent in their role.
However, from 1 August 2025, the Department for Education (DfE) introduced new funding rules that significantly change how OTJ hours are calculated, recorded and delivered. These updates aim to give providers and employers greater flexibility — while maintaining quality and consistency across programmes.
This article outlines what’s changing, what stays the same, and how providers can remain compliant under the new rules.
What counts as off-the-job training?
OTJ training is defined as learning undertaken during the apprentice’s paid working hours, that is directly relevant to the apprenticeship standard and outside of their normal productive job role.
Examples include:
- Classroom or virtual workshops, lectures and webinars.
- Practical training on new tools or technologies.
- Shadowing or mentoring (when learning new skills, not doing routine work).
- Projects or assignments that develop new knowledge and behaviours.
- Industry visits and reflection activities.
- Time spent writing or preparing coursework, provided it supports learning.
It must:
- Teach new knowledge, skills and behaviours relevant to the standard.
- Occur during normal working hours (unless otherwise agreed).
- Be planned, tracked and evidenced.
- Exclude English and maths functional skills training (unless embedded).
What changed from August 2025?
The 2025/26 funding rules introduced several important updates for new apprenticeship starts from 1 August 2025:
Area | Up to July 2025 | From August 2025 (new starts) |
Programme duration | Minimum 12 months | Minimum 8 months (where the standard allows) |
OTJT hours calculation | 20% of total working hours, capped at 6 hours per week | Replaced by a fixed minimum number of OTJ hours, published for each standard |
Part-time apprenticeships | Automatic duration extension for < 30 hours/week | No automatic extension — providers must plan realistic delivery |
Prior learning (RPL) | Reduction in hours allowed but loosely defined | Clearer rules: providers must evidence RPL and cannot go below published minimum hours. The RPL is deducted from the published min to give a new min down to an absolute minimum of 187. The planned can be higher than this. |
Link between hours and duration | OTJ hours tied to working-time calculations | OTJ hours are independent of duration — deliver flexibly as long as minimums are met |
Minimum OTJT hours: a new approach
The familiar “20% rule” is replaced with standard-specific minimum OTJ hours, published annually by the DfE. (Note: An interim list was published this time but going forward we would expect this to be updated per standard as needed).
These are designed to reflect the real training requirements of each apprenticeship rather than a percentage of working hours.
Each standard’s minimum is listed in Annex C of the 2025–26 apprenticeship funding rules. Providers must meet or exceed these hours for each apprentice, unless prior learning justifies a reduction (but not below the187-hour absolute minimum).
Please note: In July 2025 the DfE agreed to cut OTJT hours for 73 standards ‘of concern’ in V2 of the funding rules 25/6 between August and December 2025 to allow time for transition. These are listed along with hours and dates in the 25/6 funding rules.
Greater flexibility for providers and employers
These updates introduce more flexibility, particularly for delivery models and scheduling:
- Part-time apprentices: You no longer need to extend the end date automatically for those working fewer than 30 hours per week — as long as the delivery plan remains achievable.
- Blended and digital delivery: You can plan OTJ training across blocks, remote sessions or flexible schedules, provided total hours and duration requirements are met.
- Customised learning plans: Since OTJT hours are no longer calculated as a percentage, providers can tailor delivery precisely to the needs of the employer and apprentice.
This flexibility supports innovation in delivery — for example, digital learning journeys, on-demand modules, or integrated tracking via apprenticeship management platforms.
What stays the same
Despite these updates, some core expectations remain unchanged:
- OTJT hours must still take place during paid working hours.
- They must teach new knowledge, skills and behaviours relevant to the standard.
- They must be planned and evidenced.
- Functional skills (stand-alone English/maths) cannot count towards OTJ hours.
- Providers remain responsible for ensuring OTJ delivery meets the funding rules, even if training is subcontracted.
Compliance checklist for 2025/26
To stay compliant under the new rules, training providers and employers should:
- Check the published minimum OTJT hours for each apprenticeship standard (Annex C, DfE funding rules).
- Plan programmes with the published minimum in mind but plan to the needs of the standard.
- Document the planned OTJT hours in the training plan, apprenticeship agreement and ILR.
- Assess and record prior learning (RPL) at the start — and adjust planned OTJT hours accordingly, ensuring they don’t fall below the published minimum.
- Track and evidence delivery using reliable systems — planned vs. actual hours, mapped to KSBs.
- Design flexible delivery models that still meet the minimum duration (8 months) and hours requirements.
- Retain evidence for audit: attendance logs, learning records, plans and progress reviews.
How Aptem supports compliance and quality
With these changes, digital solutions become even more critical.
Aptem helps providers and employers remain compliant by enabling them to:
- Plan and record off-the-job training accurately.
- Track progress against minimum OTJT requirements per standard.
- Evidence delivery for funding assurance and audit readiness.
- Automate ILR data and reporting for streamlined compliance.
- Support flexible learning models through blended or remote delivery.
As the apprenticeship landscape evolves, providers that leverage data-driven platforms like Aptem will be best placed to deliver quality training, meet audit standards, and give employers and apprentices the flexible experience they expect.
Want to know more about how Aptem can help you with off the job hours apprenticeship management? Please get in touch. Aptem supports nearly 200 apprenticeship providers with OTJ training management and lots more apprenticeship management functionality.
Please note that certain features and functionality highlighted here are exclusive to specific Aptem packages. Please speak to your Business Development Manager, or Customer Success Manager if you are already an Aptem customer, for further information.
