One data and AI programme for the whole organisation
The shape of the programme
- ManyAI or Data Foundations: six weeks, about half a day a week
- A fewAI Champions: six weeks, about eight hours a week
- Level 4Government-funded programmes, around 15 months, for depth
Mix the layers to fit your goals and your funding. No layer is the only way in.
4.8 / 5 from 78 Google reviews
1,000+ learners trained
Trusted by teams at
Why adoption stalls
Technology doesn't change a business. People using it well do.
Among UK businesses with 10 or more employees, AI use has risen from around 12% to around 35% since late 2023 (ONS, June 2026). Only 11% say more than half of their workforce has had AI-related training. The tools arrive fast. The judgement to use them well is the part you have to build.
Adoption is the bottleneck
Rollouts rarely fail on the technology. They stall when the people expected to work differently were never given the skills to do it.
Champions carry the change
Broad training gives everyone a shared floor. Change holds when a few people go deep enough to lead it: answering questions, setting standards and keeping momentum after launch week.
Skills are the control
People trained to question an answer AI produces are how you catch its mistakes. Training is a governance investment as well as a productivity one.
How it fits together
Three layers, each at the right depth
Each layer is a full programme on its own page. Together they give most people a working floor and a few people the depth to lead.
Foundations for many
A shared floor for most of your people
Six weeks, about half a day a week, in person, online or hybrid. AI Foundations teaches people to use AI well on their own work, with the tool their team already has. Data Foundations does the same for data: framing useful questions, reading reports in context and telling a clear story with numbers. Run one, the other or both; there is no fixed order.
Champions for a few
A few people per team who go further
The people colleagues already ask for help, backed by their manager. Six weeks, about eight hours a week. Each one takes a real problem their team keeps hitting, maps it, builds a pilot, tests it properly and plans where AI goes next in their function.
Funded Level 4 for depth
Government-funded programmes for the people who will lead it
Around 15 months plus an end-point assessment, about six hours a week around the job, coached by practitioners. Our three Level 4 programmes, Advanced Data & AI, AI Transformation and Data & AI Governance, are endorsed by The AI Board, an Ofqual-regulated awarding organisation. They are funded through the apprenticeship system: £0 to the learner, and what you pay, if anything, depends on your levy position and the learner's age.
You do not need all three, or this order. Some organisations start with a handful of funded places; some need a smaller, advanced programme for a team spread across locations, which is what technical upskilling is for.
How it runs
How we build the programme with you
Agree the outcome
Start with the outcome, not the course list: what do you want people to be able to do, and how will you know? We agree with you where work loses time today and who needs what depth.
Design the mix
We decide with you who joins which programme, and when. Funding decides the route, never the result.
Run the cohorts
Live sessions from practitioners, fitted around the working week, in person, online or hybrid. New cohorts can start every month or every six weeks, and a weekly session can run twice so each person picks the slot that suits them.
Measure and embed
Foundations and Champions are assessed before and after, with a report by cohort. Funded programmes end in an independent end-point assessment. Champions keep the momentum going in their teams after we step back.
Included
What every Foundations and Champions cohort includes
Assessment before and after. So you can see what changed, cohort by cohort.
Live weekly sessions. Champions also get coached build sessions on their own team problem.
Access checked before each start. We confirm everyone can use the AI tools they need before week one.
Safe use of your data. Guidance on what can and cannot go into an AI tool, taught in week one.
Recordings and materials. People can catch up on a missed session or go back over one.
A report by cohort. Skills, confidence, attendance and feedback in one place.
One programme manager. A single point of contact for your programme.
Afterwards
What each layer leaves behind
Foundations
What people can do
People use AI with fluency and confidence on their own work: they prompt it well, give it the right context, check what comes back and know what to keep human. On data, they ask the question behind the request, read KPIs in context and spot a misleading insight.
How it is measured
A confidence survey and a skills assessment, before and after.
Qualification
An iO-Sphere certificate of completion. On AI Foundations, people can also take The AI Board's Level 3 Award, an Ofqual-regulated qualification, as an option.
Champions
What people can do
Each champion has a pilot their team can run, evidence of whether it saves time and holds quality against the manual way, and a plan for which use cases come next.
How it is measured
An assessment in week one and the same assessment in week six.
Qualification
An iO-Sphere certificate of completion. Our government-funded Level 4 programmes take champions further.
Funded Level 4
What people can do
Fifteen months of coached work on your organisation's own problems, so the people leading the change can analyse, automate, govern and make the case for what comes next.
How it is measured
An independent end-point assessment at the end of the programme.
Qualification
A Level 4 qualification, on a programme endorsed by The AI Board, an Ofqual-regulated awarding organisation.
This is for you if
- You're rolling out data or AI ways of working across a function or the whole business, not training one person.
- Different groups need different depths, and you want one accountable provider rather than a patchwork of suppliers.
- You want the change to hold after launch, with named people deep enough to lead it.
It isn't if
You need one person trained in one skill, or one team on one programme. A single funded place or one team on AI Foundations or Data Foundations is simpler. Start there, and widen later if the need grows.
“iO-Sphere helped us to improve our data team's efficiency through better problem structuring, critical thinking, and being better storytellers. We can see the results immediately in the team in terms of better prioritisation, business understanding, and stronger relationships with stakeholders.”
Questions
Whole-organisation programme FAQs
How is this different from buying training courses?
+
A course teaches a skill. A whole-organisation programme ties the formats to what the organisation needs to get done: who needs what depth, in what order, and how you will know the work has changed. We design the mix, sequence the groups and stay accountable for it. One provider, one plan.
Do we have to start with foundations?
+
No. Start from what your teams need to accomplish. Some organisations begin with foundations for one function, some with a handful of funded places for the people who will lead the work, and some with both at once. Some are working on data, some on AI, some on both. Most phase the programme over several quarters, and we recommend a sequence in the proposal.
How is it paid for?
+
Foundations and Champions are commercial training, priced per engagement. The Level 4 programmes are government-funded through the apprenticeship system and are priced separately under its funding rules. Our proposal sets out which applies to each part.
Who are the champions?
+
The people close to the work who will carry the change, not necessarily managers. They are usually the ones colleagues already ask for help. A few per team go further, so the rest of the team has someone to turn to once the training ends.
How long does it run?
+
Foundations and Champions each run for six weeks, and new cohorts can start every month or every six weeks. The funded Level 4 programmes run around 15 months plus an end-point assessment, at about six hours a week around the job.
Talk to us about your organisation
Tell us what you want people to be able to do, and we'll come back with a recommended mix and how each part is funded. You will hear from us within one working day.