The original working-hours method.
The normal working hours supplied are used for the 20% illustration. Check the archived rules for the actual start year and any later changes that apply to that learner.
OFF-THE-JOB PLANNING
Off-the-job training calculator: a clearer plan for every apprentice.
Use the apprenticeship start date and the right funding method to plan training hours, pace and progress. For newer starts, begin with the published minimum for the exact standard.
The right method.
A clearer training plan.
Start with the learner’s start date, then see the hours, delivery pace and progress together. The calculation changes when the funding method changes. Your inputs stay in this browser; this tool does not access a Journey workspace.
Explore your planFour steps to a planning figure.
Enter the learning start date
The start date selects the method: the published standard minimum for starts from 1 August 2025, or the working-hours illustration for earlier cohorts. Check the funding year and standard version that apply to the learner.
Add the planned duration and any assessment-only period
Enter the planned months, the assessment-only period to exclude if your total already includes it, and the contracted hours per week. The practical training period is what remains.
Choose the standard or enter its published minimum
For starts from August 2025, pick the verified example or enter the published minimum hours for your standard and version, then any evidenced prior-learning reduction. Earlier cohorts use the working-hours method instead.
Read the plan and record the assumptions
The result panel shows the target hours, the illustrative weekly pace and, if you enter logged hours, progress against a straight-line plan. Copy the result with its assumptions into the learner record and review it against the agreed delivery pattern.
01 Shape the plan
Tell us about the programme.
Supports standard apprenticeships in England. It does not cover foundation apprenticeships, apprenticeship units, every exceptional circumstance or the whole funding eligibility test.
02 Read the plan
Standard minimum · starts from August 2025
348hours
Minimum after the RPL reduction entered
5hIllustrative weekly pace
18moPractical training period
0 hours logged0%
348 hours remain against this target.
Working, shown
348 published hours − 0 evidenced RPL hours = 348 hours.
The weekly pace uses 52 weeks minus 5.6 weeks per year for illustration only. It is not a separate weekly minimum.Planning support. Provider judgement, evidence and the applicable rules remain essential.
One question. Different rules.
Before comparing two apprentices’ totals, check the learning start date and the standard version. A result that was sensible for a previous intake can be wrong for a new one. Use the current published rules for that start year, including any stated exceptions that also affect existing learners.
A capped full-time baseline.
The illustration uses up to 30 hours each week. Part-time hours and the agreed extended duration still matter. The 2024/25 rules show a full-time twelve-month example of 278 hours.
The standard sets the minimum.
For a learner without relevant prior learning, begin with the published standard minimum. In 2026/27 it appears on the Skills England standard page. Shorter hours or a shorter programme do not automatically lower it.
From a total to a defensible record.
Keep the assumptions beside the plan.
A copied result is most useful when someone else can understand how it was reached. Record the start date, the exact standard and version, the source of its minimum, the practical duration and the reason for any prior-learning adjustment. If your own planned delivery exceeds the minimum, record that agreed planned figure too.
Use the planning result to discuss release time with the employer and apprentice. Translate the total into scheduled activities and outcomes rather than asking the apprentice to fill a timesheet with a target number.
Review the evidence, not only the percentage.
Link each entry to the new knowledge, skill or behaviour being developed. Keep enough detail to understand the activity, date, duration, learning outcome and who reviewed it. A good record helps a tutor pick up the next conversation without reconstructing the last one.
When progress differs from the original plan, establish the reason and the agreed next step. Do not treat a straight-line gap as an automatic funding, safeguarding or assessment decision. Block delivery, individual needs and recorded changes require context.
Worked example · no real learner data
348 hours can be planned over different periods.
The verified Business administrator example starts with 348 published hours and no RPL. Changing the practical duration from eighteen to twelve months changes the illustrated weekly pace, while the minimum stays at 348. Adding 100 evidenced RPL hours gives a 248-hour figure for provider review. Entering a reduction that leaves fewer than 187 hours raises an issue instead of silently accepting it.
Questions, answered
Understand the result before using it.
Is the requirement still 20% for every apprentice?
No. The method depends on the apprenticeship learning start date. Earlier cohorts use the applicable working-hours method; starts from 1 August 2025 use the published minimum for the standard. Do not move an existing apprentice to a different method simply because a new funding year has begun.
Why does the tool ask for a standard minimum?
The minimum for a newer start is specific to the apprenticeship standard. A generic percentage of working time cannot establish it. The example supplied is Business administrator, ST0070 version 1.0, with 348 published hours checked on 9 September 2026. Choose the manual option for another standard and verify its exact version before entering the figure.
Can prior learning reduce the hours?
Relevant prior learning must first be assessed and evidenced. For starts from August 2025, the tool subtracts the evidenced reduction entered from the published minimum. It flags a result below 187 hours rather than turning an unsuitable programme into an apparently eligible one. An appropriate change to the training content and price also needs provider review. This tool does not calculate a funding price or approve RPL.
Does a shorter programme automatically need fewer hours?
For starts from August 2025, changing the planned duration does not by itself reduce the standard minimum. Duration changes how quickly the training needs to be delivered. For earlier cohorts, time in the practical period is part of the working-hours calculation. In every case, the plan needs to allow the apprentice to develop the occupational competence required.
How is annual leave handled?
The earlier-cohort illustration uses 52 weeks per year less 5.6 weeks of statutory leave, proportionally across the practical period. It does not deduct extra contractual leave to lower the requirement. In standard-minimum mode, leave only informs the illustrative weekly delivery pace; it does not reduce the published hours.
Is the weekly pace a weekly attendance rule?
No. It is the selected target divided across the illustrative working weeks. Delivery can be arranged through an appropriate agreed pattern. The straight-line progress comparison is a planning reference, not a finding that an apprentice is compliant, behind in learning or ready for assessment. Compare it with the actual training plan, particularly for block release or front-loaded delivery.
What happens to assessment time and breaks?
Enter an assessment-only period separately if it is already included in your total planned duration; the tool removes it from the practical training period. Enter zero if you have supplied the practical duration alone. Do not deduct eligible learning simply because assessment also occurs during the programme. Breaks, transfers, changing work patterns and revised assessment plans need a review of the individual record and applicable rules.
Does Journey keep the evidence as well as the number?
Journey connects the training plan, off-the-job log, evidence against the standard and progress reviews on the learner record. That lets the team inspect what supports the recorded hours and follow up gaps. Explore the e-portfolio and off-the-job capability page, or ask for a walkthrough using controlled demonstration data. A total alone is not evidence of training.
Check the source. Keep the context.
Source review: . This is Journey’s planning explanation of the published material, not regulator endorsement. The relevant official documents take precedence if they change.
- 2026/27 apprenticeship funding rules — minimum-hours and RPL provisions, including paragraphs 39 and 85–89.
- 2025/26 apprenticeship funding rules and Annex C — the change to standard-specific minimums.
- 2024/25 apprenticeship funding rules — the earlier working-hours method, paragraphs 83–86.
- Official off-the-job training guidance — definitions, evidence and the different approaches.
- Skills England: Business administrator ST0070 v1.0 — the 348-hour example used in the tool.
- Funding rules by start year — check the correct archived or newer rule set.
See what changes
when it all connects.
Bring your learners’ journey, your team’s questions and your next ambition.