What you leave with
Your AI Strategy on a Page, signed off by your sponsor.
Plus a prioritised use-case backlog scored on value × feasibility, a draft tooling strategy, and a board-ready 90-second pitch.
Level 5 · Unit 1 of 3 · AU0009
AI Strategy Apprenticeship Unit. Set the AI direction your organisation actually follows.
The AI Strategy Apprenticeship Unit is a 30-hour Level 5 Skills England unit (AU0009), £750 fully funded per learner, designed for leaders setting their organisation's AI direction. Cut through the AI noise. Identify the opportunities that matter for your function. Build a defensible business case. Walk away with a strategy your sponsor will sign off. Not a 47-page deck nobody reads.
£750 fully funded30 hours guided learningCopilot, Gemini or Claude variantLive online · cohort-based
Day-by-day at a glance
The 4 days inside Unit 1
- Day 1: Foundations & Opportunity Mapping
- Day 2: Use-Case Viability & Risk
- Day 3: Vendor & Horizon Scanning
- Day 4: Strategy Synthesis & Stakeholder Engagement
Trusted by 60+ employers nationwide, from NHS England to the Financial Times
The 4 days
Practical, applied, no-fluff: from opportunity to signed-off strategy.
Every activity uses your real organisation as the case study. You bring the context, we bring the structure. By Day 4, you've got a one-page strategy ready for sponsor sign-off. Not theory, not a generic framework.
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
Foundations & Opportunity Mapping
What's covered
- AI capabilities & limitations clinic, what AI is genuinely good at, where it still fails
- Map your function's AI value pools: where the time, money, and quality opportunities sit
- Audit existing AI use in your organisation vs the untapped opportunity
- Identify 5–7 candidate use cases for your area
- Score each candidate on value × feasibility, an honest matrix
By the end of Day 1Your shortlist of 5–7 use cases, scored and prioritised, ready for viability work tomorrow.
2
DAY 2
Use-Case Viability & Risk
What's covered
- Run a viability assessment on your top use case, data, process, people, technology
- Build a back-of-envelope ROI, productivity gains balanced against feasibility, impact, readiness)
- Stress-test against typical CFO objections (cost, risk, opportunity cost)
- Map the risks and unintended consequences (job impact, vendor dependency, reputation)
- Design a human oversight model that keeps decisions accountable
By the end of Day 2A defensible business case for your top use case, with risks named and oversight designed in.
3
DAY 3
Vendor & Horizon Scanning
What's covered
- The Microsoft / Google / OpenAI / Anthropic decision framework, with clear cases for each
- Build vs buy vs partner. The actual decision tree, with examples
- Vendor lock-in, what it costs, when it's worth it
- Procurement basics for AI services. The questions you must ask
- Horizon-scan exercise on emerging tech. What's 12 months out and what to ignore
By the end of Day 3A draft tooling strategy v1, what you'll buy, what you'll build, what you'll wait on.
4
DAY 4
Strategy Synthesis & Stakeholder Engagement
What's covered
- Write your AI Strategy on a Page. The document your exec will actually read
- Build the executive narrative. The “why now” story
- Stakeholder mapping, who needs to be on side, who needs to be informed
- Roleplay the board pitch, including the awkward questions
- Walk away with a signed-off draft. The one-page deliverable
By the end of Day 4Your AI Strategy on a Page. Sponsor-signed, board-ready, defensible.
Outcomes
By the end of the AI Strategy Apprenticeship Unit, you'll be able to…
Six concrete capabilities, mapped to the Skills England AU0009 standard. Phrased the way buyers and sponsors actually speak.
Set AI direction with confidenceDefine a defensible AI policy and strategy for your function or organisation, balancing opportunity, risk and capability.
Spot the right opportunitiesUse qualitative and quantitative evidence to evaluate AI-driven improvement opportunities, and reject the wrong ones.
Document and communicate strategyBuild an AI strategy aligned to organisational goals, values and risk appetite, in language non-technical stakeholders understand.
Assess viability honestlyRun rigorous use-case and pilot assessments balancing productivity gains against feasibility and organisational readiness.
Win stakeholder supportEngage executives, peers and the wider workforce to build genuine buy-in. Not just compliance.
Stay ahead of the curveHorizon-scan emerging AI technologies and trends, monitor implementation, and adapt as the landscape shifts.
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.
Heads of FunctionOperations, Finance, HR, Marketing, Sales, IT, Customer, L&D — anyone setting AI direction in their function.
Strategy & Transformation LeadsInternal strategists, transformation directors, innovation leads shaping the AI agenda.
Programme & Portfolio ManagersCross-team leaders co-ordinating AI delivery across multiple workstreams.
Directors below board levelOperational directors who shape investment decisions but report into the C-suite.
Senior Managers & Team LeadsFirst-line and second-line leaders setting AI direction in their teams.
Heads of Strategy & InsightStrategy, planning, and analytics leaders responsible for AI opportunity discovery.
Senior Individual ContributorsSpecialists with cross-team influence — your AI subject-matter experts in the making.
Aspiring LeadersIdentified for transformation, succession or step-up roles where AI-fluency now matters.
Founders & SME OwnersOwner-managers and founders setting AI direction for fast-growing UK SMEs.
Innovation & Product LeadsProduct, R&D and innovation directors evaluating where AI changes the offer.
Customer Experience LeadersHeads of CX, service design, customer ops scoping AI for customer-facing journeys.
Finance & FP&A LeadersHeads of Finance, FP&A and Commercial making the AI investment case.
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.
What is the AI Strategy Apprenticeship Unit?
The AI Strategy Apprenticeship Unit (AU0009) is a 30-hour Skills England Level 5 apprenticeship unit. It costs £750 per learner, fully government-funded for SMEs and drawn from the Apprenticeship Levy for levy payers. Learners walk away with their own AI Strategy on a Page, signed off by their executive sponsor.
Do I need to be a CEO to take this?
No. Anyone in a leadership role with autonomy to inform investment decisions is eligible. That's much broader than 'C-suite'. Heads of function, senior managers, programme leads, AI champions all fit the brief.
What if my organisation hasn't done much with AI yet?
This unit is specifically designed for organisations at an early or exploratory stage. It builds foundational understanding and helps you identify viable opportunities. You don't need existing AI experience to take it.
Does this stack with the other two units?
Yes. Most leaders take all three. Unit 1 sets direction, Unit 2 builds the responsible-adoption infrastructure, Unit 3 delivers transformation. Total: £2,250 fully funded for the complete pathway.
How is it assessed?
Mandatory skills test delivered by TESS, validated by your employer, demonstrating you've acquired the knowledge and skills in the AU0009 standard. Your AI Strategy on a Page doubles as the practical evidence.
Will the strategy actually work for my real organisation?
Yes, that's the point. Every exercise uses your real context, not generic case studies. Your sponsor (named on Day 1) signs off on Day 4. If they don't, the unit hasn't delivered.
What if I don't have a sponsor?
We help you identify the right one before Day 1. For closed cohorts, we work with your L&D team to ensure every learner has named executive support.
Stop debating AI. Set the direction.
Take the fit assessment to see if Unit 1 fits your organisation's stage, or speak to a learning advisor about cohort dates and closed-cohort customisation.