Up to £750 of levy or government funding buys one leader at least 30 hours of taught time on AI strategy, procurement or delivery, ending in a skills test the employer signs off.
Apprenticeship Units: What £750 and 30 to 140 Hours Buy an Employer, and When a Unit Is the Right Call
By James Cotton · Last updated · Sources checked · 12 min read
Part of our topic guides on Government-Funded Data & AI Training and AI Skills for Business.
By James Cotton, Founder, iO-Sphere
What a unit is, and who can start one
The apprenticeship unit funding rules for August 2026 to July 2027, published by the Department for Work and Pensions and now at version 2, define an apprenticeship unit as "a targeted flexible training programme designed to upskill employees in a critical skill", built from "existing occupational standards". Paragraph numbers below are theirs unless another source is named.
Skills England says units are for employees "aged 19 and over, where their employer has identified that they need to upskill quickly". The apprenticeship statistics published on 16 July 2026 add that units "are not designed for people starting a new career or occupation".
A unit learner is not an apprentice: there is no apprenticeship agreement, and the employer, who pays the wages, "must not use the apprentice rate of the national minimum wage". Find apprenticeship training puts the employment test in one line: "You can only enrol your existing employees in an apprenticeship unit."
The learner must be 19 or older on the day training starts (para 22.1), spend at least half their working hours in England, remote and hybrid workers included (22.5), hold a contract long enough to finish, and have "a separate, identifiable line manager" acting as the employer.
Paragraph 24 bars funding for, among others, sole traders; people working under IR35, unless they are office holders such as police constables and ministers of religion; shareholders, directors or people of significant control with no separate line manager; and anyone on a government-funded skills bootcamp.
Part-time and zero-hours staff qualify. For a learner on fewer than 30 hours a week, the provider sets a duration "so that training expectations are realistic" (para 42); zero-hours contracts work only where every other rule is met.
On a full apprenticeship, what the person already knows comes off the hours and the price under the main funding rules. A unit has no partial discount (para 26): a learner whose existing skills overlap 50% or more of the planned hours is not eligible, and a conversation with learner and employer may be enough to judge it.
Before funding, the employer agrees with the provider that a skills need exists and the plan matches an approved unit "at the most appropriate level" (para 38.1), that the unit links to the person's job, and the price, with any contribution clear "from the outset". It must then release the learner and help them "embed and consolidate" the skills at work.
What the hours are, and what a unit ends in
The planned duration must sit between 1 and 16 weeks and between 30 and 140 delivery hours (para 131). Each unit prints its own minimum, and a provider "can plan to deliver more than the published minimum requirement but must not deliver less" (47.1).
Delivery hours are "hours delivered by a tutor and received by the learner during the learner's normal working hours" (para 45.1), with both "in the same physical or virtual space". Self-directed study and assignments cannot count, and nor can onboarding, revision, examinations or any testing (46.3).
The glossary names tutor presence as the key difference from off-the-job training, the main apprenticeship's measure of training time, so 30 unit hours and an apprenticeship's off-the-job hours measure different things. On length, Find apprenticeship training says only: "Exact duration depends on the training provider."
A unit can run up to 8 weeks past its planned end (para 132); a learner who has not finished the planned hours and passed the test by then must be withdrawn, unless on maternity, adoption or shared parental leave.
Progress reviews are not required unless agreed with the employer (para 59). The training plan is agreed before any training and records the delivery hours, the timing, the assessment and a sign-off.
The assessment is a skills test the provider designs or commissions, for example from an awarding organisation (para 61), in a format it chooses. It must be "proportionate to the learning outcomes", one of several tests the rules set, and a practical skill needs a practical test. Someone independent from training delivery must have developed it.
The employer then validates the plan: training delivered in full, test passed, and the skills "required to apply in their job role" acquired (para 64.3). DWP's unit assessment guidance (16 April 2026) says validation should not be "a general satisfaction survey".
A unit ends in a provider's skills test validated by the employer; any qualification is optional and extra, agreed between provider and employer, and "sits outside of the assessment required" (para 63). Find apprenticeship training describes the AI units' Level 5 as "Equal to higher national diploma (HND)", a description of the level with no award attached.
Who pays, at each age and levy position
The levy is charged at 0.5% of an employer's pay bill. The £750 on each AI unit is a funding rate, "the maximum total cost that the government will contribute"; the price itself is agreed in a contract for services. For starts from 1 August 2026, the rate is split like this.
| Employer and learner | Who pays, up to the £750 rate | Where the rule sits |
|---|---|---|
| Non-levy employer, learner 19 or over | Government, in full | Para 92 |
| Levy payer with funds in its account, any age | The levy account | Paras 73 and 75 |
| Levy payer with insufficient funds, learner 19 to 24 at the start | Government, in full (new in version 2) | Para 93 |
| Levy payer with insufficient funds, learner 25 or over at the start | Government 75%, employer the balance | Para 94 |
| Levy payer whose balance is below the payment due | The balance first, then government and employer | Technical funding guide, para 40 |
| Any employer, where the price exceeds £750 | The employer, for the excess | Para 95 |
A levy payer's own funds go first, whatever the learner's age. DfE's Find employer schemes page, in an example about apprentices, says: "From 1 August 2026 your levy funds continue to be used first, even if the apprentice is under the age of 25."
Government money, the same page adds, comes in only when the whole account is spent: "This applies once levy funds are exhausted across the full Growth and Skills offer, including apprenticeships, foundation apprenticeships and apprenticeship units."
Within the account, apprenticeships come first. The unit technical funding guide says: "Payments for apprenticeships will be prioritised ahead of payments for apprenticeship units" (para 66). An employer can set the order in which its providers are paid.
DWP and DfE's Growth and Skills Levy factsheet (2 September 2026) calls units "Fully funded for non-levy paying employers and levy paying employers for learners aged 19 to 24"; for a levy payer, that full funding starts only once its levy account is insufficient.
A non-levy employer reserves funds in its apprenticeship service account before the start or in the same calendar month (paras 71, 85). Levy funds can be spent on units, and new levy funds expire after 12 months.
VAT is not in the price (para 89.1), though it may be charged on an employer's contribution and on any amount above the rate. The learner can never be asked to pay, even after leaving early. A £150 learning support payment is not taken from the levy account.
Our sums on a £750 rate: a non-levy employer, or a levy payer with insufficient funds and a learner aged 19 to 24, pays nothing up to the £750 rate. The same levy payer with a learner of 25 or over pays 25%, which is £187.50, plus any VAT.
At the 30-hour minimum, £750 is £25 per tutor-present hour, and less where a provider plans more hours. One learner taking all three AI units, one after another, uses £2,250 of funding for 90 minimum delivery hours.
What an employer pays towards a full apprenticeship follows the main funding rules and their own split by the apprentice's age and the employer's levy position.
Beyond the employer's own account, a levy transfer, in which a levy payer sends part of its funds to another employer, can pay for a unit: paragraph 234 of the apprenticeship funding rules for August 2026 to July 2027 counts units inside the same 50% allowance, and the unit rules want the transfer agreed before the learner starts.
The three AI leadership units on the register
Skills England's register, filtered on units, shows 11 entries: 10 approved units and 1 withdrawn. Seven approved units, from battery manufacturing to solar PV installation, sit at Level 2 or 3 with maximum funding of £950 to £3,200. The three AI leadership units are the only approved units above Level 3: Level 5, £750 each.
The register dates two AI changes to 21 April 2026: AU0002, "AI leadership: Developing AI strategy", which shows "Withdrawn on 21 Apr 2026" and no start date set, and the three units below, approved for delivery that day with a first start date of 28 April 2026.
Each AI unit sets the same entry bar: learners "must be working in a leadership position within an organisation with autonomy to deliver technological change and inform investment decisions".
| Unit | Who it is for, in Skills England's words | One outcome it lists |
|---|---|---|
| AU0009, AI leadership: AI strategy and opportunity | Leaders "responsible for setting direction, governance and oversight for AI use", especially at "an early or exploratory stage of AI adoption" | "Define, document and communicate an AI strategy aligned to organisational goals, values and risk appetite." |
| AU0010, AI leadership: AI adoption, procurement and governance | "those involved in evaluating options, developing business cases, and establishing governance and assurance approaches" | "Evaluate AI solutions and vendors using structured criteria following organisational process (cost, performance, risk, data readiness)." |
| AU0011, AI leadership: AI delivery and organisational transformation | "those overseeing implementation of AI and ensuring that AI solutions are integrated effectively into organisational processes" | "Monitor performance and risks of deployed AI systems, including bias, drift and security vulnerabilities." |
The units draw on existing standards: Artificial intelligence (AI) and automation practitioner (Level 4), Chartered manager (degree) (Level 6) and Senior leader (Level 7) for all three, plus Machine learning engineer (Level 6) for AU0009 and AU0010.
DWP and DfE's September 2026 factsheet, listing the same ten units, says the focus "allows us to test what works and refine and expand the offer over time".
Who offers the AI units, and in what shape
Find apprenticeship training lists 131 training providers who offer AU0009, 121 for AU0010 and 126 for AU0011. Below, providers describe their offers in their own words, with the unit rule beside any claim that differs from it.
BPP's AU0010 course shows "£750 / levy funded / Free / for learners / 95% government funded for non-levy payers", over "10 weeks (5 week accelerated route for closed cohorts only)", with outputs including an AI Ethics Statement, Bias Risk Assessment and AI Risk Register. The unit rules have the government fund all of a non-levy employer's costs up to the rate.
BPP's employer units page lists "AI leadership: developing AI strategy" under "Launching in April 2026:" and describes "30 to 140 guided learning hours". That is the title of AU0002, the unit withdrawn above, and the rules count delivery hours. Its leadership units page offers three BPP-titled units "over either 5 or 10 weeks".
Apprentify delivers 30 hours "typically across nine weeks, depending on organisational need and delivery model"; on AU0009, learners "Produce a practical AI Strategy and Opportunity Brief", assessed by "a structured skills-based assessment, supported by Apprentify and validated by the employer". QA describes each unit as "a 5-day, instructor-led, standalone learning experience".
Leep's AU0009 course is remote, "delivered in 4 consecutive days", and "There is no exam." Its funding line: "95% is funded by government co-investment, you agree to pay a mandatory 5% cash contribution." Under the unit rules, a levy payer with insufficient funds pays nothing up to the rate for a learner aged 19 to 24, and 25% for one aged 25 or over.
Leep's units page shows both "Aged 16+" and "For existing employees aged 19+"; the unit rules set 19. Cambridge Spark maps its course to all three units and calls it "100% Levy-funded for UK organisations".
Baltic says "Each unit includes 30 hours of guided learning, practical activities and assessment", over one week or one day a week for five weeks. Para 46.3 excludes assessment and testing from delivery hours.
Corndel's course page reads "Funded by Corndel" and "No levy payments. No government funding. No commercial investment." On 14 May 2026 Corndel called the 30 hours of live delivery "an arbitrary constraint" while saying it "backs the intent of Apprenticeship Units".
What nobody can tell you yet
No official unit start figures have been published. The apprenticeship statistics published on 16 July 2026 say: "Whilst there are none to report currently, they will be included in a future release." The next apprenticeships release, covering August to October 2026, is provisionally due in January 2027.
Ofsted's inspection information for further education and skills providers says: "Apprenticeship units remain out of scope of inspection until April 2027 at the earliest."
For the initial launch, the DWP and DfE units toolkit (2 September 2026) says delivery is limited "to a targeted group of apprenticeship training providers who can demonstrate strong performance in the occupational standards from which the units are drawn", and the unit rules fund only providers approved for specific units. The previous government's DfE update of 25 March 2026 had announced the same targeted start.
The funding can move. Each AI unit's Skills England page says the department "will give notice if funding for this apprenticeship unit is to be withdrawn", after which "funding for new starts will not be available after four weeks". Rates may change for new starts only; the technical funding guide holds the rate at a learner's start for the whole programme.
The leadership standards no longer funded for new starts
The factsheet lists 16 standards not government funded for new starts, of any age, from September 2026, three of them leadership and management: Team leader (Level 3), Operations manager (Level 5) and Chartered manager (degree) (Level 6). Each one's Skills England record says it "remains available for delivery for privately funded apprentices". Chartered manager (degree) is among the standards the AI units draw on.
When a unit is the right call
This is how we would decide. A unit is the right call when the learner already leads with autonomy over technology and investment, the need sits inside one unit's outcomes, and the funding is the government's: a non-levy employer, or a levy payer whose account is spent and whose learner is 19 to 24.
A levy payer with funds is spending its own levy, after its apprenticeships, and we treat the levy as a capability budget with a shelf life: map the capability need first, and buy a unit only where that map shows a short, narrow need.
Where the person will carry an AI change through a process, the full standard to look at is AI Transformation (Level 4). Where the person will own governance every day, it is Data & AI Governance (Level 4). Where a leadership group wants a short format bought commercially, team training fits.
Where the gap sits with the board, the questions a board should ask about AI come before any spend on one leader. Where a unit is still the call, ask the provider for its planned hours, its test's author and its price against £750.
Frequently asked questions
Can a provider teach a unit from recordings, or subcontract it?
Recordings count only when they cover a specific learner's absence, such as sickness, and may make up no more than 20% of that learner's planned delivery hours; they must not be used across a whole cohort (para 51.3). Subcontracting is not permitted: all funding for a unit runs through the single provider the employer chose.
Does a unit count if the person later starts the linked apprenticeship?
It counts as prior learning. The DWP and DfE toolkit says: "Where someone has taken an apprenticeship unit and progresses onto the linked apprenticeship, it will count as prior learning." The apprenticeship must still have at least 8 months to run and meet the off-the-job training rules, and DfE's Skills for Careers page says it "will take less time to complete".
Can one person do a unit and an apprenticeship at the same time?
Both sets of funding rules bar it. The unit rules exclude anyone "undertaking an apprenticeship or another apprenticeship unit" (para 24.4), so units also run one at a time, and the main funding rules exclude apprentices who are undertaking "another apprenticeship or apprenticeship unit". Find apprenticeship training adds: "Employees who are already doing an apprenticeship cannot do them."
Build a data-literate workforce
Data apprenticeships funded through the Growth & Skills Levy: £0 for any apprentice under 25, and most of the cost covered for older starts.