Apprenticeships funding changes - bridging the gap between what’s needed… and what’s funded

For many years, in the early days of CAKE People Development, we offered apprenticeship-funded qualifications.

In 2020, we moved away from the apprenticeship funded model. This move however allowed us to focus on our core values of quality, flexibility and impact over funding dependency.

That said, we’ve always kept a close eye on the funding landscape because it shapes the wider skills landscape both CAKE PD and our clients operate within.

This week, the government confirmed changes that many had anticipated and actively pushed back against.

The direction is clear:

Less funding for certain professional and leadership pathways. More focus on early-career entry routes.

Some of the key standards affected include:

• Coaching Professional

• Learning and Skills Assessor

• Learning and Skills Mentor

• Team Leader (Level 3)

• Operations Manager (Level 5)

• Chartered Manager (Level 6)

In simple terms:

• Providers who haven’t delivered these standards recently will lose funding immediately.

• Those with active learners will see funding taper off by December 2026.

• There will be limits on the number of funded places delivered between now and its defunding by the end of the year.

This isn’t a small adjustment for many businesses around the country.

It will impact:

• Employers who relied on funded development

• Learners partway through programmes

• Providers whose business models were built around these routes

But more importantly…

It creates a growing gap between the skills businesses need and the routes available to build them.

The Skills Gap That’s Opening Up

What’s striking isn’t just what’s being removed.

It’s the skills developed by those programmes.

These weren’t niche capabilities.

They sit right at the heart of how organisations function and grow:

Leadership & Management Capability:

• First-time managers learning how to lead people

• Middle managers who drive businesses forward

• Senior leaders developing influence, clarity, and direction

Coaching & Mentoring Skills:

• Managers supporting performance through coaching conversations

• Building internal coaching cultures

• Developing emotional intelligence, reflection, and self-awareness

Learning & Development Capability:

• L&D professionals designing meaningful development journeys

• Assessors and mentors supporting real capability building

• Organisations creating internal learning development teams

And this is where it becomes important.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025:

• Analytical thinking, leadership, and resilience are among the most essential skills for the future 

• Leadership and social influence, talent development, and adaptability are among the fastest-growing capabilities 

• Skills gaps remain the biggest barrier to business transformation globally.

So the very skills being deprioritised in funding…

…are the ones becoming most critical to business success.

We’re expecting better leadership, better coaching, and better development… without investing in how to build it?

How CAKE can support Businesses Through This Transition

We’re not dependent on funding models and that allows us to focus on what actually works.

Leadership Development That Builds Real Capability:

From first-time managers through to senior leaders, we focus on:

• Practical leadership skills

• Decision-making and thinking capability

• Communication, influence, and presence

• Leading through change and uncertainty

Delivered through:

• Accredited ILM & CMI programmes

• Tailored in-house development

• Applied, work-based learning

Coaching & Mentoring:

This includes:

• Coaching and mentoring qualifications

• Developing internal coaching capability

• Embedding coaching into leadership behaviours

The organisations that scale well don’t just manage performance, they understand the importance of coaching and mentoring as a key skill for their teams.

Developing L&D and Internal Capability:

With funding reducing, organisations need stronger internal capability than ever.

We support:

• L&D teams to design and deliver impactful programmes

• L&D strategy, we can be your outsourced partner running your L&D function.

• Train-the-trainer development

• Creating structured, scalable development pathways

We can help our clients shift from just buying training to understanding and building the capability they need to meet their strategic goals.

Modern, Flexible Learning Approaches:

We align with evolving ILM standards and modern expectations by focusing on:

• Real-world application over theory

• Practical assignments linked to business challenges

• Blended learning journeys

• Reflection, coaching, and supported practice

Less about ‘learning for the sake of it’ and more about leveraging learning that changes behaviour.

Thoughts from CAKE on Apprenticeship Funding Changes

Funding has changed.

But the need hasn’t.

If anything from our experience and the experience of our clients, it’s increased.

The organisations that move forward won’t be the ones waiting for funding to return.

They’ll be the ones who recognise the gap early and take ownership of building the capability themselves and we can be here to help anyone that needs support.

If you are thinking about what your organisation will do next as funding is coming to an end, please feel free to get in touch with our team for a chat without any pressure.

If you'd like to understand what these changes mean and how you can continue to support and develop your people, we're more than happy to have a conversaiton.