What you leave with
Your AI Governance Framework + Risk Register + Vendor Selection Guide.
Three working documents your team can drop straight into how you adopt and buy AI. Practical, not theoretical. Aligned to EU AI Act and ISO/IEC 42001.
Level 5 · Unit 2 of 3 · AU0010
AI Adoption Apprenticeship Unit. Adopt AI without breaking what matters.
The buyer's playbook for AI tools. Run a structured procurement. Build a governance framework that auditors and regulators recognise. Walk away with a Risk Register, a Vendor Selection Guide, and a Governance Framework v1. Not just policy you'll never read.
£750 fully funded30 hours guided learningAligned to EU AI Act & ISO 42001Copilot, Gemini or Claude variant
Day-by-day at a glance
The 4 days inside Unit 2
- Day 1: AI Solution Evaluation & Procurement
- Day 2: Risk, Ethics & Regulatory
- Day 3: Governance Frameworks & Compliance
- Day 4: Human Oversight & Adoption
Trusted by 60+ employers nationwide, from NHS England to the Financial Times
The 4 days
From procurement to governance to oversight, in working documents, not policy.
Every exercise applies to a real AI tool you're considering or already running. By Day 4, you have the three working documents that procurement, audit and your auditors all recognise.
This is one example layout. For closed cohorts (8+) we tailor the format around your operating rhythm: half-days, evenings, two-day blocks, split delivery across sites. Same 30 hours, same outcomes, your shape.
1
DAY 1
AI Solution Evaluation & Procurement
What's covered
- The structured evaluation criteria buyers actually use, cost, performance, risk, data readiness
- On-prem vs cloud vs third-party. The trade-offs nobody admits
- Run a real procurement scenario, vendor scoring, reference calls, proof-of-value
- Build a cost-benefit analysis for your top vendor candidate
- Practical: what to put in your RFP, what to leave out
By the end of Day 1A vendor evaluation framework you can apply to your next AI procurement decision.
2
DAY 2
Risk, Ethics & Regulatory
What's covered
- EU AI Act, what applies to UK orgs, what doesn't, when the deadlines hit
- NIST AI RMF, ISO/IEC 42001, UK AI Playbook, ICO guidance. The practical map
- Risks that bite: vendor lock-in, IP exposure, data leakage, model drift, sustainability
- Embed ethical and human-centred design into your procurement process
- Build your initial Risk Register on a real AI tool you're considering or running
By the end of Day 2A populated Risk Register and a clear view of which frameworks apply to you.
3
DAY 3
Governance Frameworks & Compliance
What's covered
- Design a governance framework for your function: roles, escalation paths, accountability
- Run a structured risk assessment on a live AI tool. Not a hypothetical
- Documentation, auditability, transparency. The audit-ready trio
- Maintain evidence of model decision-making (the part procurement always asks about)
- Practical: the one-page governance summary your CEO will actually read
By the end of Day 3Governance Framework v1 with named roles, escalation paths and audit-ready documentation.
4
DAY 4
Human Oversight & Adoption
What's covered
- Design human-in-the-loop oversight that actually works. Not just theatre
- Engagement and training approaches for non-technical staff
- Build feedback and evaluation loops into the AI tools you've already deployed
- Handle the “will this replace me?” conversation honestly and well
- Walk away with the Vendor Selection Guide + signed Governance Framework
By the end of Day 4Vendor Selection Guide + Governance Framework + Risk Register, your full Unit 2 deliverable.
Outcomes
By the end of the AI Adoption & Governance Apprenticeship Unit, you'll be able to…
Seven concrete capabilities mapped to AU0010, phrased the way procurement, risk and governance teams actually speak.
Evaluate AI solutions structurallyScore vendors and tools against cost, performance, risk and data readiness using a defensible framework.
Make procurement decisions defensiblyDrive procurement based on testing, benchmarking and user validation following organisational policy.
Identify the risks that actually biteVendor lock-in, IP exposure, data leakage, sustainability, surface and mitigate them before they cost you.
Design a working governance frameworkRoles, responsibilities, escalation paths. The framework your auditors will actually recognise.
Embed ethics into decisions, not just policyApply ethical, legal and regulatory considerations at every stage of AI adoption.
Build audit-ready complianceDefine documentation, auditability and transparency processes that hold up to scrutiny.
Design human oversight that worksBuild human-in-the-loop mechanisms that catch problems early. Not just satisfy a checkbox.
Format & cohort
Pick how your AI Apprenticeship Unit runs.
30 guided learning hours per AI Apprenticeship Unit, however you want them. Most learners join an open cohort. Closed cohorts (8+ from your organisation) get fully customised delivery.
Three ways to run it
Same content. Same outcome. Choose what works for your people.
Open cohort
4 weeks, 1 day per week
One full day a week for four weeks, alongside the day job. The most popular format.
Enquire about this format
Open cohort
4-day intensive sprint
Four consecutive days, deep immersion. Best for leaders who want it done.
Enquire about this format
Closed cohort · from 8 learners
Fully customised for your organisation
Half-days, evenings, two-day blocks, split delivery across sites, whatever fits your operating rhythm. Tailored examples, exercises and case studies pulled from your team's actual context.
- Format flexed to your calendar (no fixed dates)
- Use cases pre-built from your real workstreams
- Sector-specific frameworks and regulators
- Group sponsor onboarding for your exec
Talk to us about a closed cohort
Funding: £750 per learner per unit, £2,250 for the full three-unit pathway. Levy payers draw it from their Apprenticeship Levy account. SMEs and non-levy payers get it 100% government-funded — not 95%. Both routes: £0 to your bottom line.
Who it's for
AI Apprenticeship Units designed for everyone in your organisation with influence over AI decisions.
You don't need to be on the exec to take this. Anyone with autonomy to shape AI direction in their area or function fits the brief, and that's how closed cohorts of 8+ become realistic across your organisation.
Compliance, Risk & AuditOfficers responsible for AI governance, regulatory readiness and assurance frameworks.
IT & Tech LeadersHeads of IT, CIOs, and infrastructure leaders evaluating and integrating AI tools.
Heads of FunctionOperations, Finance, HR, Marketing — anyone responsible for AI buying decisions.
Procurement & Vendor ManagersProcurement leads structuring how AI gets bought and integrated into supplier ecosystems.
Data & Information OfficersDPOs, Heads of Data, Information Governance leaders owning data lifecycle and AI risk.
Senior Managers & Team LeadsFirst-line and second-line leaders owning AI rollouts and adoption in their teams.
Legal & Privacy CounselIn-house legal teams handling EU AI Act, ICO, and contract risk on AI deployment.
Aspiring LeadersIdentified for governance, risk or compliance step-up roles where AI fluency now matters.
Information Security OfficersCISOs, Heads of Cyber, Security Architects assessing AI risk and threat surface.
Quality & Standards ManagersISO 27001, ISO 9001 leaders extending management systems to cover AI governance.
AI Ethics & Responsible AI LeadsNewer roles owning fairness, transparency, and ethics in AI deployment.
Internal AuditInternal audit teams assessing AI controls, model risk and assurance evidence.
UK exclusive · included with every TESS apprenticeship unit
Meet Coachy — your learners’ AI tutor, 24/7 between sessions.
Coachy is the Claude-powered AI tutor we built specifically for apprenticeship learners. Every TESS L5 AI Apprenticeship Unit comes with Coachy in your learners’ pockets — so when they’re drafting their AI Strategy on a Page at 9pm, or stress-testing a Risk Register before their next session, they’re not stuck waiting until the next live day.
- Always-on coaching: assessment prep, framework recall, prompt practice — on demand, between live days.
- Trained on the L5 AI standards: Coachy knows AU0009/10/11 inside out, including the Skills England KSBs.
- Safe by design: employer-controlled, no data leakage to public models, audit-trail friendly.
- Built on Anthropic Claude: the same model used as a vendor variant inside the unit itself.
Frameworks aligned
Built around the standards your auditors and regulators are asking about.
Every unit is mapped to the frameworks that matter most in UK regulated and public-sector contexts. Not generic "responsible AI" hand-waving.
EU AI Act
Risk classification, prohibited practices, transparency obligations applicable to UK orgs operating in or with the EU.
NIST AI RMF
US National Institute of Standards risk-management framework — increasingly the global reference for AI risk.
ISO/IEC 42001
International standard for AI management systems. The compliance bar UK procurement will increasingly expect.
UK AI Playbook
DSIT guidance on safe, ethical AI for UK public-sector and regulated industry use.
ICO guidance
Information Commissioner's expectations on AI, automated decision-making and personal data.
OECD AI Principles
International values-based framework underpinning trustworthy AI.
Sector context
AI Apprenticeship Units, tailored to your sector and your job.
We've delivered AI training across every major UK sector. Every closed cohort gets tailored use cases, regulators and language from your team's actual world. Not generic frameworks.
Clinical AI safety
NHS Trusts & Healthcare
Clinical workflow automation, patient data governance, AfC-aligned role redesign, NHS England assurance.
Public-sector AI assurance
Local Government & Councils
Council AI use cases, UK AI Playbook in practice, transfer-levy mechanics, citizen-trust frameworks.
AI in schools & HE
Multi-Academy Trusts & Education
Safeguarding-first AI, KCSiE alignment, exam-board evidence, AI for academic and admin staff.
FCA & PRA in mind
Financial Services
Model risk management, FCA AI guidance, customer-outcomes evidence, audit-ready governance.
AI on the shop floor
Manufacturing & Engineering
Predictive maintenance, supplier ecosystem impact, ISO 42001 alignment, Industry-4.0 reskilling.
Critical national infrastructure
Energy & Utilities
Grid optimisation, asset management AI, OFGEM assurance, supplier governance, sustainability reporting.
AI across the network
Transport & Logistics
Routing & optimisation, predictive ops, customer experience, ORR / DfT assurance, last-mile automation.
AI in regulated client work
Professional Services & Legal
Confidentiality-first AI, SRA / ICAEW guidance, client-data governance, document intelligence at scale.
Front-line and ops AI
Retail & Consumer
Customer experience automation, supply-chain forecasting, marketing AI, in-store productivity.
AI on a third-sector budget
Charities & Third Sector
Fundraising AI, beneficiary safeguarding, grant-funder reporting, low-code automation for small teams.
… and any sector where AI leadership matters. Talk to us about your context →
Why TESS Group
Three reasons UK leaders choose TESS for AI Apprenticeship Units.
Every provider in the UK delivering these new units charges the same £750 per unit. You're choosing on depth, format and proof. Not price.
Coachy AI Tutor
The only UK AI apprenticeship provider with a Claude-powered AI tutor included. 24/7 between sessions, embedded in the platform, ready when your leaders are.
Three vendor variants: Microsoft, Google, or Claude
Most enterprises have already standardised on Copilot, Gemini, or Claude variant. A growing number now run Anthropic Claude as well. Your learners arrive on day one in their actual tooling. No other UK provider offers all three vendor variants at the £750 funded tier.
Published outcomes
72% distinction rate on TESS AI apprenticeships vs ~33% UK average. We publish the number. Most competitors don't.
Compared to other UK providers
Honest comparison: TESS AI Apprenticeship Units vs the UK peer set.
All major providers deliver these new units at the same £750-per-learner funding cap. The differences are in format, depth, frameworks named, and what you actually leave with. The five rows below summarise the major UK providers offering these units in 2026 (anonymised), data pulled from each provider's own public pages.
| Provider | Format | Day-by-day shown | Named deliverable | Frameworks named | Vendor variant | AI tutor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TESS Group | 3 ways: 4 wks · 4-day sprint · closed-cohort custom | Yes, full day-by-day per unit | 3 named outputs (one per unit) | EU AI Act, NIST RMF, ISO 42001, UK Playbook, ICO, OECD | Microsoft, Google, or Claude | Coachy (Claude-powered) |
| A leading Cambridge-based data & AI provider | Undisclosed | 3 phases (vague) | In a news article only | "Responsible AI" generically | None | Proprietary platform |
| A major IT training brand | 5-day rigid block | No | None | None named | None | None |
| A regional digital training provider | 12 weeks online | No | "Real workplace outputs" (generic) | None | None | None |
| A digital apprenticeship platform | 1–16 wks vague | No | None | None | None | None |
| A boutique online apprenticeship provider | ~4 wks online | 3 themes | None | None | None | None |
Frequently asked
AI Apprenticeship Units: straight answers.
Is this the unit for procurement teams?
Yes, and for the heads of function buying AI through them. Procurement teams get the structured evaluation criteria; heads of function get the governance and risk lens. Closed cohorts often mix the two.
Does this make us EU AI Act compliant?
It gets you a long way. The unit explicitly maps to EU AI Act risk classifications, prohibited practices and transparency obligations. Final compliance always requires legal sign-off, but you'll walk in to that conversation with a populated Risk Register and Governance Framework already drafted.
What about ISO 42001 certification?
The unit aligns to ISO/IEC 42001 (the AI Management System standard) so the governance framework you build can feed directly into a future certification effort. We don't deliver certification, that's a separate audited process, but we set you up for it.
Is this for me if I'm not in compliance or risk?
Yes. Every leader buying or deploying AI eventually owns governance whether they want to or not. This unit gives you the framework before you get caught out.
Can we customise the unit to our regulatory environment?
For closed cohorts (8+ from your org), absolutely. We tailor the regulatory framing to your sector: FCA for financial services, CQC for health, MoD-aligned for defence, etc.
How is it assessed?
Mandatory skills test, validated by your employer. Your three deliverables (Framework, Risk Register, Vendor Selection Guide) double as practical evidence.
Build the AI governance your auditors will actually recognise.
Take the fit assessment to see if Unit 2 maps to your team's risk and governance maturity, or talk to us about a closed cohort tailored to your sector.