Employer Support Fund: Helping you host T Level Industry Placements

Employer Support Fund: Helping you host T Level Industry Placements

The Employer Support Fund (ESF) is available to help employers deliver high-quality T Level industry placements by contributing to the essential costs of hosting a student. The fund runs until 31 March 2027 and aims to make it easier for more businesses – especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and organisations in priority sectors – to get involved. 
 

Whether you’re interested in offering a placement for the first time or looking to scale up your involvement, this fund can help you cover key expenses that directly support a student's time in your workplace.

Who is eligible?

The fund is available to:

• Employers of all sizes hosting T Level industry placements for the Health T Level 
• Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) hosting placements for all other T Levels, excluding Construction which has separate funding support arrangements. An SME is defined as a business with fewer than 250 employees AND less than or equal to £44m in annual turnover or a balance sheet total of less than or equal to £38m.

Note: Arm’s Length Bodies that offer health placements, such as the NHS Trusts, are eligible to claim for funding. All other Arm’s Length Bodies (ALBs) and government departments cannot claim from the ESF.

While many employers will be eligible, funding is not guaranteed. T Level providers are given a set allocation and have discretion over how they use it based on local needs and priorities.

How funding works 

Funding differs depending on the type of placement:

Health T Level

• Funding is provided at a fixed sum of £800 per student (not per employer, if a student’s placement is supported by multiple employers)

• This is a fixed contribution and is not based on itemised costs or receipts  

• This funding is a contribution towards placement costs and may not cover all expenses  

All other T Levels (SMEs only)

• funding is claims-based 
• employers must provide evidence of costs (e.g. receipts or invoices)

What can the funding cover?

The ESF is intended to cover essential costs only – the items or services that are necessary to set up or deliver a T Level placement. It is not a full cost recovery fund but can act as initial support funding to help you get started or expand. 
 
You can claim for costs related to:

• administrative costs, such as setting up:
  • processes and procedures
  • organisational systems
  • a physical workspace to support delivery (e.g. renting or hiring space for in-person support)
  • Staff time to support placement set-up and supervision

• tangible costs, such as:
  • Mandatory equipment or PPE (e.g. uniforms, scrubs, safety boots)
  • insurance
  • ID passes or security checks (e.g. DBS, occupational health clearance) 
  • software and licenses for IT systems
  • employer transport costs to deliver a simulated placement activity at a provider venue
  • materials and supplies directly related to the industry placement
  • training, such as specialised courses or certifications for students, or any necessary training required by the employer to support the placement (e.g. safeguarding courses for staff, manual handling, infection control, site inductions)
  • Mandatory vaccinations 
  • Workstation set up (e.g. desk, chair, laptop)
  • Digital access (e.g. student setup on IT systems, Microsoft packages)
  • Specialist tools or kit required for student involvement (e.g. scientific glassware, clinical training room access

Examples of eligible claims:

Health:

• Occupational health screening and DBS checks
• Mandatory vaccinations
• Scrubs and ID badges

Example: An NHS Trust requires students to have mandatory vaccinations and PPE. It currently has no budget to cover this cost, which is restricting the Trust’s ability to host placements on the scale they would like. The ESF can contribute towards these costs through the £800 per student funding.

Other T Levels:

• Software and licences for IT systems
• Chemicals and safety equipment for Science students
• Liability insurance for student participation

Example: A small software development company wants to host Digital students but uses specialist design software that requires additional licences for new users. Purchasing licences to give students full access would be a valid claim.

How is the funding claimed?

Employers will need to provide basic information about their business and the costs they are claiming as part of a short employer declaration form. For SME placements, this will include details of the costs being claimed and supporting itemised receipts. For Health T Level placements, employers will need to confirm which students have started the course, including their Unique Learner Number (ULN). 

Employers and providers must retain any required records to support this declaration.  

We want the Employer Support Fund to support as many students as possible. Providers will want to determine a reasonable spend per student. For the Health T Level, funding is provided at a fixed sum of £800 per student. We understand that placement costs will vary. Not all employers will need funding and not all students on placements will need support, so providers will make decisions based on individual circumstances.

Clarification on costs

Funding is only available for essential, additional costs directly related to hosting a student on an industry placement. The following costs can be recovered by employers, if there is a clear need, supported by receipts:

Student transport and subsistence costs

Funding is already available to support student travel costs through the £550 per student industry placement funding and 16-19 bursary funding. Therefore, student transport costs can only be claimed via the ESF if they exceed what can be covered by these existing funding routes and the student is not able to self-fund.

Staff hours / pay 
 
To make claiming easier for all employers, we can confirm that the staff time receipt or invoices can be used as evidence for staff time claims and meet the requirement for a ‘receipt’. This applies to costs for placement setup, supervision, mentoring, and evaluation. An invoice should include:

• Number of students supported
• Total hours claimed
• Hourly rate (max £35/hour)
• Total amount claimed (including VAT)
• Reason for time claimed (e.g., setup, supervision, mentoring) 
   

The ESF is not a full recovery fund. The DfE expects employers to contribute staff time in-kind in most circumstances. However, we also recognise in some businesses, for example micro businesses, covering staff costs could be an essential to participation. Therefore, staff hour / pay claims will only be accepted if they represent additional costs that the employer would not ordinarily incur. The claims will still need to be supported by receipts.     
 
General overheads or expenses without a clear and specific link to the placement will not be fundable.

While not all employer contributions can be reimbursed, many employers offer placements because they see the value students bring to their organisation – whether through fresh ideas, added capacity, a long-term pipeline for recruitment or developing their own team’s mentoring and management skills.

Additional notes

• There is no cap on the amount of funding a single SME employer can receive, but each T Level provider decides how they allocate their available funds.
• The ESF can support activities across the full range of industry placement types, including:
  • Placements hosted in the workplace
  • Simulated activities delivered in provider venues
  • Work tasters or structured on-site experiences
• Placements must start between 23 April 2026 and 31 March 2027
• In some cases, providers may use their allocation to cover essential costs on your behalf as long as it directly supports their placement.

How to access the fund

In the first instance, employers should contact their T Level provider to discuss whether they would like to access the Employer Support Fund. The provider will assess whether support can be offered based on their allocation and local priorities.

To find T Level providers in your area visit: https://employers.tlevels.gov.uk/hc/en-gb

Even if you’re not sure whether you are eligible for funding, we encourage you to reach out to T Level providers. The ESF is here to make it easier for you to open your doors to the next generation of skilled workers and grow your own talent pipeline.  

Further guidance on the Employer Support Fund can be found he cre.