What counts as off-the-job training for apprenticeships?

29 June 2026 · 3 min read · By Journey

Last reviewed: June 2026.

Off-the-job (OTJ) training is one of the most misunderstood parts of apprenticeship delivery, and one of the most common reasons a funding claim is challenged at audit. It is not classroom time versus workplace time, and it is not a separate course bolted onto the job. It is the structured learning of new knowledge, skills and behaviours that takes place within the apprentice's normal paid working hours.

This guide explains qualifying activities, exclusions, target-setting and the evidence a provider should retain. Funding and inspection judgements remain with the responsible bodies.

The definition that actually matters

Under the applicable England apprenticeship funding rules, off-the-job training is learning undertaken outside the normal day-to-day working duties but within the apprentice's paid working hours, which teaches new knowledge, skills and behaviours relevant to the apprenticeship standard. The key test is not where the learning happens — it can happen at the employer's premises, at the training provider, or remotely — but whether it is teaching something new towards the standard.

Because the test is about substance rather than location, mentoring at the desk, shadowing a colleague on a new process, or a structured e-learning module completed at work can all count, provided they are planned, teach new competence and are recorded.

What counts towards off-the-job hours

The following activities generally count when they are planned against the standard and properly recorded:

• Teaching of theory: lectures, workshops, online learning, lectures and required reading
• Practical training: shadowing, mentoring, industry visits and attending competitions
• Learning support and time spent writing assessments or assignments
• Time spent practising new skills in the workplace under guidance towards the standard

What does not count

Equally important is what must be excluded, because including the wrong activity inflates the claim and creates audit risk:

• Training to acquire knowledge, skills and behaviours not required by the apprenticeship standard
• Progress reviews and on-programme assessment needed only to confirm existing competence
• Unpaid study in the apprentice’s own time. An exceptional session outside normal hours may count where the apprentice agrees and receives time off in lieu or additional pay; this must not be the majority of delivery.
• English and maths (functional skills) up to level 2, which sit outside the OTJ requirement

How the minimum requirement is calculated

For starts from 1 August 2025, use the standard’s published minimum, with any evidenced prior-learning adjustment. Starts from 1 August 2022 to 31 July 2025 use 20% of working hours, capped at a 30-hour full-time baseline; earlier starts used 20% of actual normal working hours. Current standard minima are on Skills England. Check the original start date, standard version and applicable rules, including part-time provisions, before setting a target.

Confirm the applicable start-year rule and standard version before agreeing the target. Record any evidenced prior-learning adjustment, plan delivery and monitor actual hours against the agreed plan.

Evidencing OTJ so it survives an audit

At audit, an assessor wants to see that the planned hours were realistic, that the actual hours were genuinely off-the-job, and that there is a contemporaneous record linking each activity to the standard. A spreadsheet of round numbers added up at the end of the year is exactly the pattern that triggers a deeper look.

Strong evidence is captured as delivery happens: each logged activity carries a date, a duration, a description and a link to the knowledge, skills or behaviours it develops, and the running total is visible to both the apprentice and the provider. Journey captures OTJ against the standard as part of delivery, with shortfall alerts, so the evidence pack behind a funding claim is built continuously rather than reconstructed.

• Does off-the-job training have to happen away from the workplace?

  No. Off-the-job training can take place at the workplace, at the training provider or remotely. What matters is that it teaches new knowledge, skills or behaviours towards the standard, within paid working hours, rather than being normal day-to-day work.

• Do progress reviews count as off-the-job training?

  Generally no. Routine progress reviews and on-programme assessment that only confirm existing competence are not counted as off-the-job training. Time spent learning new content or writing assessments can count.

• What happens if an apprentice is short on off-the-job hours at gateway?

  A shortfall identified at gateway is very difficult to remedy and can put the funding claim and the apprentice's progression at risk. The hours should be planned from the start and monitored throughout so any gap is caught while there is still time to act.

Questions providers ask

• Does off-the-job training have to happen away from the workplace?

  No. Off-the-job training can take place at the workplace, at the training provider or remotely. What matters is that it teaches new knowledge, skills or behaviours towards the standard, within paid working hours, rather than being normal day-to-day work.

• Do progress reviews count as off-the-job training?

  Generally no. Routine progress reviews and on-programme assessment that only confirm existing competence are not counted as off-the-job training. Time spent learning new content or writing assessments can count.

• What happens if an apprentice is short on off-the-job hours at gateway?

  A shortfall identified at gateway is very difficult to remedy and can put the funding claim and the apprentice's progression at risk. The hours should be planned from the start and monitored throughout so any gap is caught while there is still time to act.