Ireland’s National Training Fund: Who Pays and What It Funds

Almost every publicly funded training scheme in Ireland is paid for out of the same pot, and most employers who benefit from it have never heard its name. The National Training Fund sits behind Skillnet, SOLAS, the Education and Training Boards, Springboard+ and the apprenticeship system. Understanding how it works explains why some schemes are generous, why others are constrained, and why the answer to "is there funding for this?" is so often "yes, but not through the route you asked about". Our CPD course library sets out what is available and how it is certified.

Where the money comes from

The fund was established by the National Training Fund Act 2000. It is financed by a levy on employers, collected alongside PRSI through the payroll system and transferred monthly to the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. It is also part-financed by the European Social Fund, depending on what the European Commission reimburses in a given year.

The levy stood at 0.7% of reckonable earnings from 2000 until 2017. Increases of 0.1% in each of Budgets 2018, 2019 and 2020 brought it to 1%, where it remains. It is an employer charge, not an employee deduction, and it is not optional.

What it actually funds

The Comptroller and Auditor General's audited figures for 2022 give the clearest picture: income of EUR 951 million against expenditure of EUR 681 million.

Two bodies take the overwhelming share: the Higher Education Authority received roughly EUR 314 million and SOLAS roughly EUR 299 million, together more than 90% of allocations. Apprenticeships alone account for about EUR 210 million across both.

The number that explains the politics

Expenditure in 2022 was only 72% of income, and that pattern had run for years. The accumulated surplus reached EUR 1.372 billion by the end of 2022 and EUR 1.77 billion by the end of 2024 — roughly double annual spending, and well beyond what a prudent reserve requires.

The National Training Fund (Amendment) Bill was published in October 2025 to allow the surplus to be spent, including on capital expenditure for the first time. The package is around EUR 1.485 billion across 2025 to 2030: approximately EUR 885 million in current funding, including an additional EUR 150 million a year for higher education by 2030, a one-off allocation for the tertiary sector, and roughly EUR 600 million of capital for skills facilities and research.

It is worth being clear about where that money is going. The release is weighted toward higher education, buildings and apprenticeships. Employer representative bodies have objected publicly that levy money paid by employers is funding universities rather than workforce upskilling, and the published allocations do not earmark any of the package specifically for people already in work.

Why a large surplus does not mean a large budget

This is the part that frustrates everyone. NTF spending counts toward the Department's expenditure ceiling, so increases must be offset by reduced Exchequer spending elsewhere. Spending the surplus does not affect the Exchequer balance but does raise general government expenditure, so it has to fit within the Government's fiscal strategy. The money exists and still cannot simply be spent.

What this means if you are looking for funding

The fund does not pay providers or employers directly. It flows through intermediary bodies, and the route determines the rules.

• Industry networks. Skillnet Ireland co-funds training through its business networks, which commission programmes rather than operating an approved-provider list.
• Further education. SOLAS and the Education and Training Boards deliver employer-facing provision, including the Skills to Advance initiative for employees. The EUR 15.4 million employee and CPD line is the part closest to professional development.
• Higher education. Springboard+ funds places on courses delivered by higher education institutions, so an external provider needs an institutional partner.
• Apprenticeships. The largest single call on the fund, and the most structured.

Reporting obligations attached to the money

Since 2020, programmes funded from the NTF have been required to report progression, placement and completion data. The C&AG found that this had not translated into outcome-based measurement: performance measures focused on inputs and activity levels, an annual outcome-based evaluation agreed for 2020 onward had not been produced, and before 2023 the HEA's own oversight agreements did not reference NTF funding or targets despite the Authority having received over EUR 1 billion from the fund since 2019.

For a provider, that reporting requirement is worth reading as an opportunity rather than a burden. Completion and progression data is exactly what commissioning bodies are now under pressure to produce.

Frequently asked questions

Can an employer apply to the National Training Fund directly?

No. There is no direct application route. Employers access it through Skillnet networks, SOLAS and the ETBs, Springboard+ or the apprenticeship system, each with its own rules.

Is the levy refundable if an employer does not train?

No. It is a payroll levy rather than an individual training account, so an employer that does not engage with any of the funded routes pays it and recovers nothing.

Has the levy changed recently?

Not since 2020. It rose from 0.7% to 1% through three successive 0.1% increases in Budgets 2018, 2019 and 2020.