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

No. Off-the-job training can take place at the apprentice's usual place of work, including at their desk or workstation. What matters is that the activity teaches new knowledge, skills or behaviours relevant to the apprenticeship and happens during paid working hours, not where it physically occurs.

Is it still a 20% rule?

The '20 percent' label reflects earlier funding rules where the minimum was expressed as at least 20% of contracted hours. The requirement has since been refined into a minimum number of hours calculated under the current funding rules. Always check the funding rules for the year in which the apprentice started to confirm the exact method and threshold.

Do English and maths count towards off-the-job training?

English and maths qualifications at Level 2 and below do not count towards the off-the-job minimum. They remain a required part of many apprenticeships, but they are funded and treated separately from OTJT.

What happens if an apprentice does not meet the minimum off-the-job hours?

Failing to deliver and evidence the minimum can lead to funding being clawed back at audit and can raise serious quality concerns during Ofsted inspection. Monitoring actual hours against the planned hours throughout the programme, and acting early where an apprentice is behind, is the best way to avoid problems.

Who is responsible for making sure off-the-job training takes place?

It is a shared responsibility. The provider plans, delivers and quality-assures the training; the employer must release the apprentice for the required time during paid hours; and the apprentice engages with and confirms the learning. All three parties should agree the planned hours in the training plan.

Off-the-Job Training: Understanding the Apprenticeship Minimum Requirement

What off-the-job training actually means

Off-the-job training (OTJT) is learning undertaken outside of the normal day-to-day working duties of an apprentice, which takes place within the apprentice's paid working hours and directly teaches new knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs) relevant to the apprenticeship standard. It is a mandatory funding requirement, not an optional extra, and it underpins the whole design of an apprenticeship as a substantial programme of learning.

A common misconception is that OTJT must happen away from the workplace. It does not. It can take place at the apprentice's normal desk or on the shop floor, provided the activity is teaching something new that is part of the apprenticeship rather than simply carrying out the job. What matters is the purpose of the activity, not the location.

It is equally important to understand what OTJT is not. It does not include English and maths qualifications up to Level 2 (functional skills), progress reviews or on-programme assessment, training that could reasonably be undertaken outside paid working hours, or the general performance of the day job.

The minimum requirement: the '20 percent' history and the current position

Many providers still refer to the '20 percent rule'. This originated from earlier funding rules, which expressed the minimum off-the-job requirement as at least 20% of an apprentice's contracted hours over the planned duration of the apprenticeship. The concept has since been refined by the ESFA/DfE into a minimum number of hours rather than a straight percentage, to make planning and comparison fairer across different working patterns.

Because the exact way the minimum is expressed and calculated has changed over time, you should always check the current apprenticeship funding rules for the funding year in which each apprentice starts. Do not rely on memory or on figures quoted in older guidance. The principle, however, has remained consistent: an apprenticeship must contain a genuine, substantial amount of new learning delivered during paid working time.

In practice, the safest approach is to calculate the required OTJT hours at the point of enrolment using the current rules, agree them formally in the training plan (commitment statement), and then track actual delivery against that plan for the whole programme.

What counts towards off-the-job training

The range of activities that can count is broad, which is good news for planning but means you must be deliberate about what you record. The test is always whether the activity teaches new KSBs that are part of the standard and takes place in paid working hours.

Teaching of theory: lectures, workshops, online learning, lessons and role-playing
Practical training: shadowing, mentoring, industry visits and attending competitions
Learning support and time spent writing assignments or working on projects
Time spent on the job learning new skills under supervision that develop KSBs
Attending training relevant to the standard, including some external courses

What does not count

Being clear on exclusions protects you at audit and in inspection. Activities that fall outside OTJT should not be counted towards the minimum, even where they are valuable in other ways.

English and maths qualifications at Level 2 and below
Progress reviews and on-programme assessments
Training delivered outside the apprentice's paid working hours
End-point assessment (EPA) itself
Routine day-to-day work that does not teach anything new

How to calculate and plan the hours

Start with the apprentice's actual contracted or average weekly working hours, then apply the current funding-rule method to arrive at the total minimum OTJT hours across the full planned duration. Where an apprentice works part-time or has irregular hours, you may need to extend the planned duration so that sufficient learning can realistically be delivered.

Build the required hours into a curriculum plan from day one. Map each planned activity to the KSBs it develops and distribute learning sensibly across the programme rather than back-loading it. A front-loaded or evenly paced plan is far easier to defend than one where large volumes of hours appear late in the journey.

Remember to reflect breaks in learning, changes to working hours and any prior learning. If an apprentice's circumstances change, revisit the calculation and update the training plan, keeping a clear record of why the figures changed.

Recording and evidencing OTJT

Robust evidence is where many providers come unstuck. You should record OTJT contemporaneously — as it happens — with enough detail to show what the activity was, when it took place, how long it lasted and which KSBs it developed. Retrospective, vague or duplicated logs are a red flag at audit and can undermine confidence during an Ofsted inspection.

The employer, apprentice and provider all have a role. Employers must give apprentices the time to train; apprentices should confirm the learning has taken place; and providers must plan, deliver and quality-assure it. A consistent, shared record that all parties can see reduces disputes and makes reviews far smoother. Dedicated apprenticeship platforms such as Journey can help by capturing OTJT against KSBs in real time and flagging apprentices who are falling behind their planned hours.

Finally, treat OTJT hours as a quality indicator, not just a compliance box. If actual delivery consistently lags behind plan, that is an early warning of poor progress, at-risk apprentices and potential funding recovery — and it is far cheaper to fix early than at end of programme.