Blog 2025

This Is Minute One: Moonpig Invests in AI Mastery, Not Just AI Tools

Makers — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 09:50:20 GMT

AI is already changing how we work. The question is: how do we make it meaningful?
At Moonpig, that starts with learning together.

Autumn Budget 2025: What Yesterday's Apprenticeship Changes Really Mean for Employers

Makers — Thu, 27 Nov 2025 12:49:33 GMT

Some significant changes landed in today’s Autumn Budget, especially for employers who pay the apprenticeship levy. The government has introduced a set of reforms that will reshape how large organisations plan, spend and prioritise their apprenticeship investment moving forward.

Here’s what’s changing, and why it matters.

1) The 10% levy top-up is being removed

Previously, £1m of levy allocation appeared as £1.1m of virtual credit. The 10% uplift, originally positioned as "you can get more than you put in", will now go. It was never additional new money, but it did increase spending power for levy-paying employers.

This is one of several measures announced that will reduce the overall purchasing power of levy payers.

2) Levy funds will expire in 12 months instead of 24

The expiry window for levy funds will halve. The original 24-month period was put in place in 2017 when the system was new and the full suite of apprenticeship standards was not yet available. The government now argues the landscape has matured sufficiently to warrant a shorter expiry window.

With over £5bn currently unspent in levy-payers' accounts, the government is moving to accelerate the cycle: funds will now expire more quickly.

3) Co-investment for levy-payers becomes less generous once funds run out

When a levy payer's digital account balance is exhausted, the co-investment rate will move from 95:5 to 75:25 (government : employer).

This represents a substantial change to the funding arrangement and will increase the cost of any training taken above the levy allocation.

4) Fully funded apprenticeships for SMEs hiring under-25s

For non-levy-paying employers (SMEs), apprenticeship training and assessment for employees aged 25 or under will now be fully funded (previously the threshold was under 22).

Providers often highlight that collecting co-investment from SMEs can be administratively burdensome, sometimes for very small amounts, so this shift is expected to remove friction within the system.

5) A move to "streamline" the apprenticeship standards

The government referenced upcoming work to "streamline" the current suite of apprenticeship standards. With 700+ standards, some with zero starts, the expectation is that the offer will be thinned out and rationalised.

This also aligns with the forthcoming introduction of apprenticeship units from April 2026, and work is already underway to prepare the Apprenticeship Service for this change.

What this may mean

Taken together, these changes may feel like a tighter environment for levy-paying employers:

removal of uplift
faster expiry
higher co-investment once the levy runs out
a reduced and rationalised set of standards

These may influence employer behaviour, for example, encouraging earlier planning cycles or greater scrutiny of how apprenticeship funding is deployed. Employers will also be watching closely for more detail on the apprenticeship unit offer due in April 2026.

For SMEs, the extension of full funding to under-25 apprentices is a positive step and may increase uptake.

Finally, widening the under-25 offer may indicate that future changes to adult (25+) funding could emerge, especially outside priority IS-8 sectors. While this isn't explicitly stated in the Budget documents, the pattern of recent policy shifts suggests this is worth monitoring as more detail is released.

What the End of Level 7 Funding Tells Us About the Future of Work

Makers — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 12:35:10 GMT

...and why cutting funding to higher-level apprenticeships risks leaving millions of experienced workers behind.

From Vet to Software Engineer: A Day in the Life After Makers

Makers — Thu, 12 Jun 2025 10:10:48 GMT

Ben Sullivan’s journey isn’t your typical tech origin story. After graduating from the Makers bootcamp, he landed his first engineering role and is now working on machine learning pipelines in one of the UK’s most respected scientific institutions.

In this blog, Ben shares what life really looks like on the other side of Makers and what he’s learned in his first few months on the job.

This post originally appeared on Ben's blog here.

From Call Centre to Code: How Holiday Extras Is Building the Future of Tech Talent

Makers — Thu, 29 May 2025 09:23:34 GMT

Building a Tech Talent Pipeline Through Transformation.

Making a Green Dent in the Universe, one Apprentice at a Time

Makers — Wed, 21 May 2025 12:34:25 GMT

The race to net zero isn’t just a technology challenge, it’s a people challenge. As the UK moves to decarbonise its economy, the demand for green tech skills is exploding. But too often, opportunity is reserved for the few.

Claudia Harris Featured in Financial Times: AI’s Real-World Impact at Makers

Makers — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 16:44:32 GMT

What’s Happening in AI?

Claudia Harris, our CEO, was recently featured in the Financial Times discussing AI's growing presence in businesses and the real challenges that come with adopting this technology. Claudia outlined how companies are grappling with the AI wave - what's working, what's not, and why adoption is more complex than it seems.

TechTrack Apprentices Meet the Prime Minister as Government Unveils Ambitious Digital Plans

Makers — Tue, 18 Mar 2025 09:13:48 GMT

Last week, the Prime Minister set out a bold new vision for a digital-first Civil Service, where one in ten civil servants will work in digital and data roles. This landmark shift is backed by the TechTrack Programme, a new initiative that will see 2,000 apprentices develop the technical expertise needed to transform public services.

And Makers is at the heart of this transformation—as the government’s chosen tech training partner.

The power of inclusive job descriptions: A guide for hiring diverse tech talent

Makers — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 08:00:00 GMT

In today’s competitive landscape, attracting diverse and talented individuals for tech roles is crucial for driving innovation and success. Conventional job descriptions often inadvertently exclude qualified candidates, perpetuates biases and limits the potential for innovation within your team. Crafting an inclusive job spec is a powerful tool for businesses looking to build diverse high-performing teams, so let’s delve into strategies for nailing that job spec:

Lights, Camera, Code: Mathilde’s journey from media to tech

Makers — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 08:00:00 GMT

“The partnership between Makers and businesses was really helpful. To say, we have these people, they crushed the bootcamp and now you can mould them with how you work and with your technology — that’s why I picked Makers.”

Mathilde Ferrand Coeurderoy graduated from Makers in 2018 and is now lead engineering manager at Clearscore, but how did she get there?