AI Essentials for Business Leaders | Level 5 Apprenticeship Unit
Your organisation needs an AI strategy.
This is how you build it.
A fully funded Level 5 programme that gives experienced leaders the skills to build, govern, and execute AI strategy. Completed in weeks, not years. No technical background required.
Hands-on with the platforms shaping business today
ChatGPT
Copilot
Claude
Gemini
GrokWho Is This For?
If you make decisions that shape how your organisation works, this is for you. No technical background needed. Just the ambition to lead AI adoption with confidence.
"I set the direction for my organisation"
MDs, CEOs, owners, and senior leaders who need to understand what AI means for their business and how to act on it.
"I manage a department or function"
Heads of department, operations managers, and senior managers who need to translate AI strategy into practical action for their teams.
"I'm responsible for risk and governance"
Leaders who need to ensure AI is adopted safely, ethically, and in line with regulations. Compliance, legal, and governance roles.
"I'm leading a change programme"
Transformation leads, project directors, and programme managers tasked with bringing AI into the organisation and making it stick.
"I develop our people"
HR leaders, L&D managers, and training directors who need to understand AI skills gaps and build workforce plans for the future.
"I know we need AI but don't know where to start"
Experienced managers at any level who can see AI is changing their industry and want to get ahead of it rather than react to it.
This is not a technical or coding programme. No IT background required. You will learn to lead AI adoption, evaluate tools, and make strategic decisions - not build the technology yourself.
What Your Leaders Will Learn
Eight domains. One complete AI leadership capability. Click any domain to see what it covers.
AI Strategy and Organisational Direction
Tap to learn moreGovernance, Ethics and Responsible AI
Tap to learn moreLeadership, Delivery and Change
Tap to learn moreWorkforce Transformation
Tap to learn moreAI Procurement and Investment
Tap to learn moreEnterprise Risk and Readiness
Tap to learn moreCommunication and Trust
Tap to learn morePractical AI Tools and Platforms
Tap to learn moreClick any domain above to see what it covers.
The Curriculum
Six structured modules delivered by expert practitioners. Each module builds on the last, taking your leaders from understanding the AI landscape to presenting a complete AI strategy to the board. Click any module to see the detail.
Identifying AI Value and Use Cases
Understand the current AI landscape across platforms like ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude, Gemini, and Grok. Identify where AI creates genuine value in your sector and organisation. Separate hype from practical opportunity.
Redesigning Processes and Workforces for AI
Map your existing processes to find AI-ready opportunities. Explore how tools like Copilot and ChatGPT can automate routine work. Plan how roles and workflows will evolve, and build workforce transition plans that bring people with you.
Data and Technology Foundations for AI Strategy
Understand the data and infrastructure your AI strategy needs without becoming a technologist. Compare enterprise AI platforms and know which tools fit which problems. Assess your current state and identify what must change.
Ethics and Risk Management in AI
Build governance frameworks for responsible AI. Navigate bias, transparency, regulatory requirements, and public trust. Establish your organisation's AI risk appetite.
Executing and Measuring AI Success
Turn strategy into action. Define success metrics, build implementation roadmaps, and create accountability frameworks that ensure AI delivers measurable business outcomes.
The AI Leadership Mindset
Develop the leadership behaviours that drive successful AI adoption. Communicate with confidence, manage resistance, and build a culture that embraces intelligent change.
The TESS AI Skills Pyramid
Most providers offer one AI programme. TESS delivers AI skills at every level of your organisation, from the boardroom to the front line. Start at the top and cascade down.
AI Leadership
Senior leaders and directors. AI strategy, governance, and boardroom decision-making.
You are hereAI for Operations Leaders
Ops managers and department heads. CMI L5, cyber security, strategic AI.
View programme →AI for Coaching Professionals
Executive coaches and L&D specialists. CMI L5 Coaching, AI-enhanced practice.
View programme →AI for People Leaders
Team leaders and people managers. CMI L3, coaching, and AI adoption.
View programme →AI and Automation
Implementation teams across all departments. Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. Up to 5 qualifications.
View programme →Data-Driven Team Leader
Front-line managers. Data skills, leadership, and three qualifications.
View programme →Every programme is fully funded through the Growth and Skills Levy. TESS is one of very few providers approved to deliver AI skills at every level.
How Is It Funded?
Apprenticeship units are fully funded under the Growth and Skills Levy. Your senior leaders can develop AI strategy skills at no cost to them.
Levy-Paying Employers
Use your existing Growth and Skills Levy funds. The AI Leadership unit draws from the same digital account as full apprenticeships. No additional budget required beyond your existing levy commitment.
Non-Levy Employers (SMEs)
100% government funded. Unlike full apprenticeships where SMEs contribute 5%, apprenticeship units for non-levy employers are fully funded by the government. Your leaders develop AI strategy skills at zero cost to your business.
How It Works
From first conversation to AI-confident leadership team in as little as four weeks. No bureaucracy, no EPA, no fuss.
Discovery Call
We understand your organisation's AI ambitions and current maturity. We scope the unit to fit your context and agree a timeline that works for your leadership team.
Enrolment
Simple paperwork. We handle the funding application and set up your cohort. Your leaders are registered and ready to start within days.
Delivery
Expert-led sessions delivered online via Zoom and Teams. Interactive workshops, real-world case studies, and 1:1 coaching tailored to your organisation's AI challenges.
Completion
Internal skills test validated by your organisation. Your leaders walk away with a practical AI strategy they can implement immediately. No EPA, no waiting.
How do you want to start?
Every organisation is different. Some want to pilot with one or two leaders first. Others want their entire senior team aligned from day one. Both work - and we'll help you decide which is right.
Start with one or two leaders
Put your most senior AI champion through the unit first. They come back with a strategy, the board sees the value, and you roll it out to the wider team with confidence.
- Low commitment way to test the approach
- Your pilot leader becomes your internal AI advocate
- Scale to a full cohort when you're ready
- Same fully funded model - zero cost to start
Enrol your leadership team
When your whole senior team goes through together, they build a shared AI language, agree a unified strategy, and hold each other accountable. The impact is transformational, not incremental.
- Shared vocabulary and vision across your leadership
- One cohesive AI strategy, not competing agendas
- Peer learning from different functional perspectives
- Tailored to your organisation's specific AI challenges
What leaders say after AI training with TESS
Senior leaders across the UK are already building AI capability with TESS. Here's what they say.
Before this, AI was something we talked about but never acted on. Within six weeks I had a strategy the board signed off on and a roadmap my team could actually execute. That shift from talking to doing was the real value.
I came in thinking AI was an IT project. I left understanding it's a leadership challenge. The governance framework alone saved us from making a costly vendor decision we were about to rush into.
We put three directors through together and the difference was immediate. For the first time, our leadership team had a shared language around AI. We stopped debating whether to adopt it and started debating how.
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about the AI Leadership apprenticeship unit.
An apprenticeship unit is a short, focused module extracted from a full apprenticeship standard. Introduced under the Growth and Skills Levy reforms, units allow employees to develop specific skills without committing to a full 12 to 24 month programme. They carry the same quality standards and funding as full apprenticeships but are completed in weeks rather than months.
The unit takes between 1 and 16 weeks to complete, with 30 to 140 guided learning hours. The exact duration depends on your organisation's pace and the depth of strategy work your leaders undertake. Most organisations complete the unit in 4 to 8 weeks.
Yes. For non-levy employers, the unit is 100% government funded with no employer contribution. Levy-paying employers use their Growth and Skills Levy funds. In both cases, the learner never pays.
No. This unit is designed specifically for strategic leaders, not technologists. It focuses on AI governance, ethical frameworks, organisational readiness, and strategic decision-making. Your leaders will learn to direct AI strategy, not write code.
No. Apprenticeship units do not require a formal EPA. Learners complete an internal skills test that is validated by the employer. This makes the process faster and more practical than a traditional apprenticeship, with no waiting for external assessors.
TESS Group has been approved to deliver the AI Leadership unit from 28 April 2026. We are now taking expressions of interest and booking discovery calls for the first cohorts.
Yes. Apprenticeship units are ideal for upskilling existing senior leaders. Any employee who will develop genuine new skills through the unit is eligible, regardless of their seniority or length of service.
Learners complete an internal skills test that demonstrates their ability to apply AI leadership concepts in their organisation. This is validated by the employer to ensure practical relevance. No external assessment organisation is involved, which means faster completion and less administrative burden.
The TESS AI Skills Pyramid covers every level of your organisation through a single provider. At the top, the AI Leadership unit gives your senior team strategy and governance skills. In the middle, specialist programmes for operations leaders and coaching professionals develop AI-confident managers. At the base, AI and Automation upskills implementation teams, AI for People Leaders develops front-line managers, and the Data-Driven Team Leader builds data literacy. TESS is one of very few providers offering AI skills at every level, so you can cascade AI capability from the boardroom to the front line.
An apprenticeship unit is shorter (weeks not months), focused on a single competency area, and uses employer-validated assessment with no EPA. It is ideal for senior leaders who need specific AI strategy skills without the time commitment of a full 12 to 24 month programme. Units and full apprenticeships can work together as part of a broader workforce development plan.
Your competitors are already planning their AI strategy.
Are you?
TESS is one of the first approved providers. Early cohorts are forming now. A 15-minute discovery call is all it takes to find out if this is right for your team.
Book Your Discovery CallYour leaders will work with
ChatGPTCopilotClaudeGeminiGrokContinue building your AI skills pipeline
The AI Leadership unit gives your senior team the strategy. These programmes take your implementation teams and front-line managers to the next level.
AI and Automation L4
For implementation teams. Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace. Up to 5 qualifications. 15 months, fully funded.
Data-Driven Team Leader L3
For front-line managers. Data skills, leadership, and three qualifications. 13 months, fully funded.
AI Prompting Accelerator
1-day workshop. Master ChatGPT, Copilot and AI tools. Ideal while waiting for unit start dates.
AI Leadership Apprenticeship Unit: The Complete Guide
Everything about AU0002 in one place: modules, funding, timelines, FAQs, and how it connects to our full AI portfolio.