YORKSHIRE employers have reportedly missed out on an estimated £300 million in workforce development funding.
The unspent funding, returned to the Treasury under the Apprenticeship Levy scheme between 2019 and 2022, could have been used to upskill workers, address skills gaps, and improve productivity across the region.
The figure represents around nine to 10 per cent of the more than £3.3 billion in unused levy funds forfeited nationally over the same period.
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 Yorkshire 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 deepen inequality and lose potential from people who can’t afford to self-fund.”
The Coders Guild highlighted the funding shortfall in its new report The Missed Opportunities of The UK Skills Levy Whitepaper (2026), which points to a persistent ‘perception gap’ among employers.
Many continue to view apprenticeships as entry-level schemes or CSR activity rather than as vital tools for upskilling existing team members, especially in digital and technical roles.
The report warns this is particularly problematic for regions like Yorkshire, where skills shortages persist in digital, engineering, and data-driven sectors.
Under the levy, businesses with a payroll of more than £3 million contribute 0.5 per cent of their salary bill and have 24 months to use the funds before they expire.
Despite this, employer investment in training has dropped by 18.5 per cent in real terms since 2011.
In this time, nearly half of UK workers now finance their own online training.
Employers who do not support staff development face higher risks of staff turnover and increased recruitment costs.
The report also highlights a major shift in the use of apprenticeships, with 51 per cent of starts now involving those aged 25 and over.
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