On 23 October, FE News published an interview with Phil Smith, the Chair of Skills England. It covered a lot of ground, from the new Jobs Plans for the growth sectors to the next phase of the Employability Skills Framework. But one part caught my eye straight away.
According to FE News, Phil makes the case for shorter courses and apprenticeship units for reskilling, and for the UK to build its own version of Singapore's approach to lifelong learning, using technology to make training far easier to find.
As someone who spends every day talking to employers about AI skills, I think he is right. Here is why, and where AI apprenticeship units and our AI & Automation Level 4 apprenticeship fit in.
What Skills England's chair said
The interview, with Gavin from FE News, also looked at the impact of AI and automation on the world of work. They discussed the Early Careers Jobs Alliance's work on how entry-level roles in law and accountancy are changing, and how Skills England is making sure the system can adapt quickly enough.
Phil also talked about the Skills for Work programme and its review of the 700 or so apprenticeships and the occupational standards behind them, and about the much larger number of adults out of work, including 2.7 million who are economically inactive due to ill health.
The thread running through all of it is speed. Jobs are changing faster than traditional qualifications were designed for. That is especially true with AI.
Why short courses matter for AI
Ask most employers what is holding back AI in their business and they will not say the tools. They will say confidence and capability, especially at the top. Leaders know they need a view on AI strategy, risk and rollout, but very few can step away from the day job for a year to get it.
That is the gap apprenticeship units are designed to fill. They are short, focused and tied to a real outcome. A senior leader can take one in weeks, not months, and come away with something the business can use.
The entry-level point Phil raised matters too. If AI is changing the first rungs of the career ladder in professions like law and accountancy, then employers need people who can redesign that work, not just use the tools. That takes deeper, hands-on skills than a short course alone can give.
AI apprenticeship units: what they look like
At TESS we deliver three Skills England Level 5 AI apprenticeship units for senior leaders:
- AI Strategy & Opportunity (AU0009): for chief executives, managing directors and strategy leads setting the AI agenda.
- AI Adoption & Governance (AU0010): for risk, compliance, procurement, legal and data protection leads.
- AI Delivery & Transformation (AU0011): for operations, HR and transformation leads running the rollout.
Each unit is 30 hours, with no end-point assessment. Closed cohorts can run as four intensive days or spread across a couple of weeks. Each one ends with a practical deliverable: an AI Opportunity Map, an AI Governance & Adoption Plan, or a 90-day AI Transformation Playbook. Different leaders can take different units, and they can be funded through the Growth and Skills Levy for eligible employers.
what3words is a good example of what a unit can unlock. Co-Founder and COO Jack Waley-Cohen did the AI Delivery & Transformation unit himself, then built a payroll checking system covering multiple countries.
"It cannot have taken me more than an hour to build."
Jack Waley-Cohen, Co-Founder and COO, what3words
Units and apprenticeships work best together
Here is the honest bit. A 30-hour unit gives a leader the strategy, governance and confidence to lead AI. It does not turn them, or their team, into the people who build and run the automations day to day.
That is why we pair the units with a full apprenticeship for the doers. Leaders set the direction through the units. The people closest to the work go deeper through the AI & Automation Practitioner Level 4, building real automations and AI agents over the course of the programme. One without the other tends to stall: leaders with no one to deliver, or builders with no clear direction.
How TESS can help
Most teams start with our AI & Automation Practitioner Level 4 apprenticeship (ST1512). It is built for non-technical staff in every department, with no coding required, 12 months of live online learning and 15 months in all. It can be funded from your levy, or by the government for apprentices aged 16 to 24, and comes with up to five qualifications and Coachy, our 24/7 AI tutor. Alongside it, our three Level 5 AI Leadership Units (AU0009 to AU0011) give your senior team the strategy, governance and delivery skills to lead the change. If you have fewer than six leaders, our complimentary AI Leadership taster days on 4 and 19 November are an easy way to try the units first.
If you would like to work out which mix of units and apprenticeships suits your team, book a 30-minute call with me.
Rod Doyle, Director, The TESS Group
Sources
Checked 26 October 2026.
