Overview
The 2026/27 funding year brings several significant changes that affect the Aptem platform. Two distinct sets of funding rules apply: the Apprenticeship Funding Rules (V1, published June 2026) covering standard apprenticeships from 1 August 2026, and the apprenticeship unit funding rules published by DWP covering the new short-course programme type, which apply to units starting on or after 28 April 2026. Our team has completed a full evaluation and we are confident in our ability to deliver all necessary changes on time.
Areas of significant impact
Here is a summary of where we see the most significant impact and what we plan to do to support our customers through the changes.
Terminology and branding: The transfer of apprenticeship policy responsibility from DfE to DWP affects terminology across the platform. "End-point assessment organisation (EPAO)" becomes "assessment organisation", "end-point assessment" becomes "apprenticeship assessment", and "gateway to assessment" becomes "gateway to completion". The DfE logo on the training plan is replaced with the DWP logo. We are updating the training plan, commitment statements, and platform-wide terminology to reflect these changes for programmes starting from 1 August 2026.
Training plan updates: The training plan is being updated to a new version (v3) incorporating revised terminology, DWP branding, and refreshed provider, employer, and learner commitment statements aligned with the V1 rules.
ILR specification changes: The 26/27 ILR specification introduces new validation rules, updated reference data, and schema changes. These are essential for customers to submit accurate ILR returns and continue claiming funding. The 26/27 ILR is being released to a limited number of customers in June 2026, followed by a full release to all customers approximately two weeks later.
Apprenticeship units: This is a new government-defined programme type. Short, employer-focused programmes of 1 to 16 weeks, funded through two milestone payments. Units differ from standard apprenticeships in several important ways: no off-the-job training requirement, no end-point assessment, no apprenticeship agreement, and no English and maths requirement. Aptem is building dedicated support for units so that providers have a compliant, purpose-built workflow rather than needing to use workarounds. More detail is available in our dedicated article: Apprenticeship units: Aptem's approach.
To summarise, we have analysed the scope of change, understand the technical implications, and are confident in our capacity and timelines to deliver the required updates.