Unlocking Untapped Government Funding Businesses are leaving government cash on the table - here are eight ways to secure funding to expand your team

If there's one lesson I've learned in the more than two decades I've spent running and scaling training businesses, it's this: you don't need to do it all on your own. And yet, time again, I see brilliant entrepreneurs working 12-hour days, spending their own hard-earned savings, trying to grow a business with no support - while government pots of funding sit untouched. I call this leaving money on the table.

In my own experience, I've used everything from apprenticeship funding and Adult Education Budget (ASF) contracts to grants, investor capital, and even advanced learner loans to grow and scale multiple businesses. These pots of money didn't just help me survive, they helped me build six-figure teams, open new centres, and reinvest in systems and staff. But I didn't learn this from a textbook. I learned it the hard way, by nearly burning out trying to self-fund everything.

There's a fear many business owners have around using loans or outside funding. One of my mentees, for example, spent years relying solely on her own income to build his training company. He worked relentlessly, but his growth was slow and frustrating. When he finally switched gears and tapped into grant funding and local partnerships, he doubled her team and saw rapid results.

Yes, debt can be risky. But when it's used to fuel growth, with a clear vision and return on investment, I call it good debt. I've often committed to funding before I felt ready or comfortable. But when I believed in the outcome, we always found a way to make it work. If you're looking to grow your team and scale your impact this year, here are eight practical routes to explore:

Apprenticeship Funding
You can receive government money to train and employ apprentices in your business. It's not just for school-leavers - apprenticeship standards now cover leadership, digital marketing, HR, customer service and more. You're essentially paid to grow your own talent pipeline.

Adult Skills Budget
This funding pot supports training for adults aged 19+, particularly those unemployed or on low incomes. If you become a subcontractor, partner or win your own allocation, you can access funding to run your own training programmes and build a delivery team around it.

Advanced Learner Loans
Think of these as student loans for adults who want to up-skill. The funding is paid directly to training providers, so if you're in education or vocational training, you can enrol learners without needing them to pay upfront, increasing accessibility and cash flow.

Local Growth Grants
Many local authorities, LEPs and councils have small business growth funds that offer £5,000–£50,000 to support expansion, create jobs or cover equipment costs. You often need to match-fund, but they're a great way to co-fund hiring or new projects.

Skills Bootcamps and Sector-Based Work Academies
Short, intensive training courses that are fully funded for in-demand industries. These can be a powerful way to upskill new team members or offer pre-employment training aligned to your business.

Government Loans (Start-Up & Growth)}
These aren't your average loans. With fixed low-interest rates and mentoring support, government-backed loans like the Start-Up Loan or Recovery Loan Scheme can fund hiring, equipment or marketing, especially if you're still early-stage and banks say no.

Investor Funding
Selling a small percentage of your business, especially to a strategic investor or someone already working with you, can give you breathing space to reduce debt and reinvest in growth. I've done this myself bringing in my Financial Director and even a family member as early-stage investors to stabilise cash flow and scale.

Collaboration and Subcontracting
Sometimes you don't need the funding contract directly, you just need the right partnership. By collaborating with larger prime contractors or training providers, you can deliver training or services under their umbrella while accessing a share of their funding. The biggest shift happens when you stop asking "Can I afford this?" and start asking "What's the return if I do this?" Growth requires investment, time, people, systems and if funding can help you accelerate without sacrificing your wellbeing or savings, why wouldn't you explore it?

I built my first business with £50,000 in credit card debt and no safety net - but I made it work. Today, I teach other entrepreneurs how to do the same, without the burnout, by tapping into the support that's out there. So before you say "no" to that next hire or project, ask yourself this: is it really unaffordable - or are you just missing the funding?