How to become an approved training provider and bid for public funding
In England there isn't one list of "approved training providers". Each pot of public training money has its own door: a register for apprenticeships, local contracts for Skills Bootcamps, funding agreements or contracts for adult skills, and ordinary tenders for most other public training. This guide shows which door goes with which money, and how to get ready to go through it.
What "approved training provider" means in England (there isn't one list)
| The money | The door | Who runs it |
|---|---|---|
| Apprenticeship training | The apprenticeship provider and assessment register (APAR) | Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) |
| Skills Bootcamps | Contracts let by local areas | Mayoral combined authorities, local authorities or local enterprise partnerships |
| Adult Skills Fund | Funding agreements and procured contracts for services | DWP in non-devolved areas; devolved authorities elsewhere |
| Council, NHS and other public training | Ordinary public tenders | The buyer |
Apprenticeships: joining the apprenticeship provider and assessment register (APAR)
The APAR is the record of organisations eligible to receive government funding to train apprentices. GOV.UK's guidance on applying (published by DWP, last updated 28 October 2026) says you can join as a training provider if you're one of these:
- a levy-paying employer that wants to train its own staff or apprentices (an employer-provider)
- a provider nominated by an employer that has shown evidence of a gap in apprenticeship provision
- a provider in an area DWP wants to grow, or where it identifies a capacity issue
There's no open window that anyone can apply through. On the gaps-in-provision route, the employer advertises its training need on the find apprenticeship training service and keeps the alert live for one calendar month. If no provider is found, it sends DWP a business case. A nominated provider must have 12 months' active trading history, and has 30 calendar days to apply once invited. The supporting provider route needs at least 3 months' active trading and caps subcontracted delivery at £500,000 a year, or £100,000 in the first year on the register. An organisation can apply only once in a 12-month period.
Being on the APAR doesn't mean DWP recommends you, and you can't use its branding. By applying, you agree to provide a quality apprenticeship as described by Skills England and to meet the APAR conditions of acceptance.
Skills Bootcamps: how providers are bought
GOV.UK's "Supply Skills Bootcamps" page (last updated 13 November 2024) says Skills Bootcamps are free courses for adults, typically lasting up to 16 weeks. Independent training providers, further education colleges and employers can deliver them.
They're bought and delivered through local areas. If you want to deliver one, GOV.UK says to contact your mayoral combined authority, local authority or local enterprise partnership. Skills Bootcamps were also bought through a national dynamic purchasing system, but the page says no more national competitions are planned through it. The Department for Education also publishes a list of local area contacts for Skills Bootcamps.
Providers' duties include working with employers to develop the training, typically giving each learner at least 60 teaching hours, sending monthly performance information and offering each learner a job interview at the end of the course.
Adult skills funding: who holds the money and how they buy
The Adult Skills Fund funding and performance management rules for 2026 to 2027 say the fund supports adult learners in non-devolved areas. In devolved areas, adult education functions have been transferred to specified combined authorities, or delegated to the Mayor of London, and those authorities fund learners who live there.
The rules cover two kinds of arrangement: a grant funding agreement, and a contract for services won through a procurement (the rules refer to DWP-funded contracts for services procured from August 2023). If you want adult skills money in a devolved area, watch that authority's own procurement and funding rounds.
Council, NHS and other public training contracts: normal tenders
Most other public training, from councils, NHS bodies and blue-light services, is bought through ordinary tenders. Whether a contract is advertised and which rules apply depend on its value: see procurement thresholds and below-threshold tenders. Under the Procurement Act, suppliers register on the Central Digital Platform before they bid. Our guide to training tenders in the UK shows what these tenders look like.
From our own count of the public data, Find a Tender carried 120 training and education tender notices from 1 September to 28 October 2026, of which 53 had a stated value under £500,000. Contracts Finder recorded 564 training and education contract awards from 1 July to 28 October 2026, and 317 of them (56%) went to SMEs.
What buyers check before they fund you
The APAR conditions of acceptance include two linked to Ofsted. Condition 11 says DWP doesn't expect your most recent published Ofsted inspection to show certain outcomes: for inspections on or after 10 November 2025, any evaluation area at provider or apprenticeship provision level assessed as "Urgent Improvement", or "Safeguarding at whole provider level" assessed as "Not Met"; for earlier inspections, apprenticeships graded "Inadequate", or, where there's no separate apprenticeship grade, overall effectiveness graded "Inadequate". Condition 12 covers "Insufficient" progress reports from two consecutive Ofsted monitoring visits or inspections.
In an ordinary tender, the Procurement Act 2023 limits what a buyer can ask for. A buyer can't require audited annual accounts from a supplier that isn't legally required to have its accounts audited, and it can't require contract insurance to be in place before the contract is awarded.
Where these opportunities are published
- Apprenticeships: employers' training needs are advertised on the find apprenticeship training service, and DWP invites providers to apply to the APAR.
- Skills Bootcamps: your mayoral combined authority, local authority or local enterprise partnership, and the notice sites they use.
- Ordinary tenders: Find a Tender and Contracts Finder. Notices for procurements still under the 2015 rules move off Contracts Finder from 1 May 2027 (SI 2026/746).
When you're ready to bid, our guide to winning public sector contracts covers the basics.
Questions
How do I become an approved training provider in the UK?
In England it depends on the money. For apprenticeships you join the apprenticeship provider and assessment register (APAR). Skills Bootcamps are bought by local areas. Adult Skills Fund money comes through funding agreements and procured contracts. Most other public training is bought through ordinary tenders.
How do I get on the apprenticeship provider register?
You can join the APAR if you're a levy-paying employer training your own staff, a provider nominated by an employer that has shown a gap in provision, or a provider in an area DWP wants to grow. There's no open window. Read DWP's APAR guidance and conditions of acceptance first.
Can a small training business bid for Skills Bootcamps?
GOV.UK says Skills Bootcamps can be delivered by suppliers such as independent training providers, further education colleges and employers. They're bought through local areas, so contact your mayoral combined authority, local authority or local enterprise partnership.
Who funds adult skills training, and how do they choose providers?
The Adult Skills Fund rules say DWP funds learners in non-devolved areas, through grant funding agreements and procured contracts for services. In devolved areas, combined authorities or the Mayor of London hold the adult education functions and fund their own learners.
Do I need Ofsted to deliver funded training?
The APAR conditions of acceptance include two linked to Ofsted. They cover poor outcomes at your most recent published inspection, such as "Urgent Improvement" or "Safeguarding at whole provider level" assessed as "Not Met", and repeated "Insufficient" progress at monitoring visits. Read conditions 11 and 12 before you apply.
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Sources
- GOV.UK: Apply to the APAR as an apprenticeship training provider (DWP, last updated 28 October 2026; read 31 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: APAR conditions of acceptance (read 31 October 2026), conditions 11 and 12
- GOV.UK: Supply Skills Bootcamps (last updated 13 November 2024; read 31 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Skills Bootcamps training providers (DfE, last updated 30 September 2026; read 31 October 2026), for local area contacts
- GOV.UK: Adult Skills Fund funding and performance management rules 2026 to 2027 (read 31 October 2026)
- Procurement Act 2023, section 22 (read 31 October 2026), for audited accounts and insurance
- The Procurement (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/746 (read 31 October 2026), for the Contracts Finder date
- Your Evenings Ltd analysis of Find a Tender notices (1 September to 28 October 2026) and Contracts Finder awards (1 July to 28 October 2026), from the services' public data
This guide summarises the official sources above. It isn't legal advice. Check the notice and tender documents for each contract.
Written with AI assistance by the Your Evenings team at Your Evenings Ltd. Last updated 31 October 2026.