Three Level 5 Skills England AI Apprenticeship Units, built for senior leaders. Set the strategy. Lock down the governance. Deliver the transformation. Mix & match across your leadership team, different leaders on different units. Fully funded for eligible employers. No cost to non-levy employers, and paid from your levy if you have one. Leaders here also get to grips with agentic AI: what AI agents can and cannot safely do in your organisation, and how to govern them.
No EPA · 30 hours per unit · Start within 4 weeks · 30-min Teams chat, no obligation
AI apprenticeship units are three short Skills England Level 5 units for senior leaders: AI Strategy and Opportunity (AU0009), AI Adoption, Procurement and Governance (AU0010) and AI Delivery and Organisational Transformation (AU0011). Each is about 30 hours, has no end point assessment, and ends with a deliverable your business uses.
| Unit | Code | Focus | You leave with |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Strategy and Opportunity | AU0009 | Setting your organisation's AI direction | Your AI Strategy on a Page and a prioritised use case backlog |
| AI Adoption, Procurement and Governance | AU0010 | Adopting AI without breaking what matters | Your AI Governance Framework and Risk Register |
| AI Delivery and Organisational Transformation | AU0011 | Moving AI from pilot to programme | Your 90 Day AI Transformation Plan |
From TESS Group, Ofsted Good, with a 72% distinction rate across TESS apprenticeships.
New to units in general? Read apprenticeship units explained.
| Level 4 AI and Automation Practitioner (ST1512) | Level 5 AI leadership units (AU0009, AU0010, AU0011) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it is for | Staff who will build and run AI automations | Senior leaders who set strategy, govern and deliver AI |
| Length | 15 months, or an 8 month fast track for closed cohorts | 30 hours per unit |
| Assessment | End point assessment by NQual | No end point assessment |
| Qualifications | Up to five alongside the apprenticeship | A tangible deliverable from each unit |
| Coding | None required | None required |
Many employers combine them: leaders take the units while their teams take the Level 4. Across TESS apprenticeships, 72% of apprentices achieve a distinction.
Co-Founder and COO Jack Waley-Cohen built a multi-country payroll checker in about an hour.
“The confidence to say, we could just replicate that, we could just automate that. What else can we get it to do?”
Jack Waley-Cohen, Co-Founder and COO, what3words
Read the case study“I am currently preparing an executive pack to present some of our findings from this module, and I am going to our executive team with a recommendation that, if you will have us, we roll this out further to a wider senior leadership community.”
Lisa Brindle, Covea Insurance
See the AI Strategy unitTwo learner projects delivered six-figure combined annual savings through levy-funded apprenticeships.
“I have been able to apply all of the course material to my day-to-day job and I have always got a real-world example to use which makes it even more meaningful.”
Harrison Stephens, DPD
Read the case study
Unlike most AI leadership courses, every TESS unit ends with a shippable artefact your business actually uses, not just a certificate. Built to be defensible at board level and operational on Monday.
A board-ready strategic map identifying the 3 to 5 highest-impact AI opportunities for your organisation, scoped, sized, sequenced, prioritised. From the Strategy unit.
Risk register, EU AI Act compliance plan, change-management approach, and the policies your team can act on day one. From the Governance unit.
A fully-scoped delivery plan with milestones, success metrics and the playbook for the next 90 days post-completion. From the Delivery unit.
Each unit is a standalone Skills England Level 5 AI Apprenticeship Unit. Mix and match across your leadership team, your CEO on strategy, your COO on governance, your transformation lead on delivery. Different leaders, different units. Each ends with a tangible business deliverable, not just a certificate.
For CEOs, MDs, divisional directors and Strategy/Innovation leads who set the agenda. The strategic foundation that everything else depends on.
For Heads of Risk, Compliance, Procurement, Legal and DPOs who turn AI intent into safe, ethical, auditable practice. The unit that keeps you out of trouble.
For Operations Directors, HR Directors, Transformation & Change leads driving workforce adoption and the actual rollout. The unit that makes the strategy real.
Different leaders need different units. Your CEO on strategy, your COO on governance, your transformation lead on delivery, each unit takes 30 hours, each ends with a tangible deliverable. We design a multi-leader rollout around your team.
Four questions about your AI maturity, lead role, scale and timing. We’ll match you to the right unit, or recommend a combination across multiple leaders. Built by the TESS strategy team to mirror the conversation we'd have on a discovery call.
Most teams have one stand-out lead. Pick the closest match, we'll factor in the rest of your team in Q4.
Honest answer. Your starting point shapes which unit gives the most ROI.
Pick the one you'd most like to walk away with in 4 weeks.
Closed cohorts launch in 4 to 6 weeks. Fewer than 6 leaders? Start with a taster day.
Need people who build the automations as well as leaders who govern them? The Level 4 AI and Automation Practitioner apprenticeship (ST1512) is 15 months, live online and needs no coding.
Every unit can be delivered against the AI assistant your business actually uses. Microsoft Copilot, Google Gemini, or Anthropic Claude, pick the track that matches your stack, get the prompts, integrations and use cases for that vendor.
Built for M365-first organisations. Copilot in Word, Excel, Outlook, Teams, plus Copilot Studio for custom agents and integration with Power Automate.
For Workspace-first organisations. Gemini in Docs, Sheets, Slides and Gmail, plus NotebookLM for knowledge-base AI and Vertex for advanced use cases.
For organisations prioritising sensitive document analysis, long-context reasoning and the strongest safety alignment. Claude + Projects + Computer Use.
Your stack: a closed cohort focuses exclusively on your client stack, your tools, your use cases and your examples. The taster day showcases all three vendor tracks so you can see the full landscape first.
Senior leaders don't have 15 spare days. Every unit is 30 hours total and runs as a closed cohort from 6 leaders. Got fewer than 6? Start with a taster day, then put your doers onto the Level 4.
Not enough people for a cohort yet? Start with a one day taster drawn from the unit curriculum. Live online, 9:30am to 3:30pm, with an NCFE workbook and an action plan to take away. The on-ramp before a closed cohort, or the Level 4.
For organisations with 6+ leaders. A 5 day agenda, tailored to your operating context. Your sector regulators, your real use cases, your sponsor in the room from Day 1.
For organisations running all three units across different leadership cohorts. Strategy, Governance, Delivery sequenced over 6 to 12 months. Sector-tailored throughout.
We've worked with leaders who've tried other routes. Every approved Skills England provider stacks up differently. Here’s the honest read on where we stand out, and where we’re comparable.
| What you get | TESS L5 Pathway | Generic AI course | Executive education | Internal upskilling |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skills England L5 standard | ✓ Yes | ~ Sometimes | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Tangible business deliverable | 3 board-ready artefacts | Certificate only | Capstone case | Strategy deck |
| Levy-funded | ✓ Paid from your levy | ✓ Usually | ✕ Cash only | ✕ Cash only |
| Cost per learner per unit | Fully funded for eligible employers | £800 to £3,000 | £8,000 to £15,000 | £25,000+ |
| Coachy AI tutor 24/7 | ✓ Included | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Sector-tailored examples | Closed cohort = bespoke | Generic | ~ Case method | ✓ Yes |
| Vendor flexibility (Copilot/Gemini/Claude) | ✓ Three tracks | Copilot only | Vendor-agnostic theory | ~ Custom |
| EPA / lengthy assessment | None, deliverable only | Variable | Capstone | N/A |
| Time commitment per unit | 30 hrs · 4 weeks | 20 to 80 hrs | 5 to 10 days residential | 2 to 6 weeks |
| Ofsted Good provider | ✓ Yes | ~ Varies | N/A | N/A |
Comparison based on publicly-listed pricing & programme specs as of May 2026. Executive education prices cited are entry programmes from named UK business schools. Generic AI providers vary widely, figures are an industry average. TESS L5 cost is the standalone bundle price; the levy funds it at the government funding rate for each unit for eligible employers.
Most providers re-package classroom content. We built this for the board meeting on Tuesday morning. Every unit ends with a tangible artefact your business will act on, an AI Opportunity Map, a Governance Plan, a 90-day Transformation Playbook, not a certificate that sits in a folder.
“A key thing we got out of the sessions was the confidence to try things and experiment. I have set up an entire payroll system, covering multiple countries’ payroll, and it cannot have taken me more than an hour to build.”
A senior leadership group at Covea Insurance
“There were quite a lot of people in our group who know a lot about AI, and you could see that she earned their respect because she was so knowledgeable. … There was never a time where she could not answer a question or give a perspective on something. She earned the respect of the group really, really quickly.”
“The four gate process that she took us through has been really, really helpful. We have already started playing around with that and thinking about how we can apply that knowledge internally.”
“I am currently preparing an executive pack to present some of our findings from this module, and I am going to our executive team with a recommendation that, if you will have us, we roll this out further to a wider senior leadership community.”
AI apprenticeship units are three short Skills England Level 5 units for senior leaders: AI Strategy and Opportunity (AU0009), AI Adoption, Procurement and Governance (AU0010) and AI Delivery and Organisational Transformation (AU0011). Each is about 30 hours, has no end point assessment, and ends with a deliverable your business uses.
Take AI Strategy and Opportunity (AU0009) if you set direction, AI Adoption, Procurement and Governance (AU0010) if you own risk and policy, and AI Delivery and Organisational Transformation (AU0011) if you run change. Different leaders on your team can take different units.
No. Each unit is about 30 hours and has no end point assessment, and is typically delivered over a few weeks.
AI units, formally the AI Leadership apprenticeship units, are short, Skills England Level 5 courses funded through the Growth & Skills Levy. Each runs about 30 hours over a few weeks and covers one part of leading AI: AI Strategy & Opportunity (AU0009), AI Adoption, Procurement & Governance, or AI Delivery & Organisational Transformation. They’re built for senior leaders, with no End-Point Assessment. Fully funded for eligible employers. No cost to non-levy employers, and paid from your levy if you have one.
Yes, for eligible employers. If you don't pay the levy, the government funds each unit in full. If you do, it comes from your levy account. If a levy balance has run out, learners aged 19 to 24 stay fully funded and the government funds 75% for learners aged 25 and over. We confirm eligibility with you before anyone starts.
No. These are standalone apprenticeship units, not full apprenticeships. Each unit has a portfolio submission and a final deliverable, but no IAO-administered EPA. Most closed cohorts complete in about 4 weeks, or 4 consecutive days in the sprint format.
AI Strategy & Opportunity: CEOs, MDs, Strategy / Innovation Directors, divisional directors setting the AI agenda.
AI Adoption & Governance: Heads of Risk, Compliance, Procurement, Legal, DPOs, the people who set policy and approve vendors.
AI Delivery & Transformation: Operations Directors, HR Directors, Transformation & Change leads, L&D / OD leads, the people running the workforce adoption.
Take our 2-minute fit assessment for a personalised recommendation. For a deeper walkthrough, read our AI Leadership Pathway Guide.
Yes, and that's exactly how most organisations run it. Different leaders, different units, all fully funded for eligible employers. Your CEO might take Strategy, your COO Governance, your transformation lead Delivery. We can run them in parallel cohorts or staggered through the year. Take the 2-min fit assessment to see who suits which unit. Still deciding? Compare The AI Strategy & Opportunity unit vs AI Adoption & Governance vs AI Delivery & Transformation.
Your choice. We deliver in three vendor tracks: Microsoft Copilot (M365-first), Google Gemini (Workspace-first), Anthropic Claude (sensitive/long-context workflows). Your closed cohort can run on any one track, or mix and switch across them.
The L5 units are short, modular, no EPA, 30 hours each, built for senior leaders who need fast strategic capability. Our L4 AI for Coaching Pros and L4 AI for Team Leaders are full 15-month AI apprenticeships with formal EPA, with CMI L3/L5, NCFE and Microsoft AB-730 credentials as a complimentary add-on. The L5 Units are short, modular, no-EPA upskillers, different beast for a different audience.
Closed cohorts of 6+ learners typically launch 4 to 6 weeks after agreement, depending on cohort-design needs. Fewer than 6 leaders? Start with a taster day. We can size it on a 30-min Teams chat.
Yes. Coachy access continues for 6 months post-completion. Closed-cohort employers also get one 60-minute alumni clinic per quarter for 12 months, to keep the deliverables alive and the leadership team accountable to them.
A 30-minute Teams chat with the TESS strategy team. We'll work out who's on which unit, what cohort size, what format, and what each leader will walk away with. No obligation. Response within 1 working day.