AU0009: direction
Use where the gap is setting AI direction and evaluating opportunity.
- Policy and strategic context
- Evidence, opportunity and risk
- Use cases and pilots
- Stakeholder support and horizon scanning
Current AI leadership units: provider delivery guide
A corrected readiness and compliance guide for AU0009, AU0010 and AU0011. The legacy URL is retained so providers using an old AU0002 link land on the current position.
AU0009
AU0010
AU0011
Interactive checklist
Corrected 15 July 2026. Applies the published April–July 2026 unit rules; check the learner's start-date rules before enrolment.
Do not enrol against AU0002. Skills England lists AU0002 as withdrawn and provides no earliest start date. Replace old marketing, curriculum, contracts and data templates with the appropriate approved reference: AU0009, AU0010 or AU0011.
Current unit facts
| Reference | Leadership focus | Level | Minimum delivery | Maximum funding | Approval / earliest start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AU0009 | AI strategy and opportunity | 5 | 30 hours | £750 | 21 April / 28 April 2026 |
| AU0010 | AI adoption, procurement and governance | 5 | 30 hours | £750 | 21 April / 28 April 2026 |
| AU0011 | AI delivery and organisational transformation | 5 | 30 hours | £750 | 21 April / 28 April 2026 |
All three units serve employed learners aged 19 or over in qualifying leadership roles. The learner needs sufficient autonomy to apply the learning through technology-enabled change or investment decisions. Use the exact official occupational and entry wording when building eligibility controls.
Map the employer need to one unit
AU0010: decision and control
Use where the gap is adoption, buying, governance or assurance.
- Vendor and solution evaluation
- Procurement and user validation
- Data, IP and lock-in risk
- Ethics, auditability and oversight
AU0011: delivery and change
Use where the gap is transformation delivery and ongoing control.
- AI-enabled organisational change
- Workforce impact and reskilling
- Risk, audit and incident response
- Bias, drift, security and communication
Do not combine the three references into an invented single product. Each has its own learning outcomes, learning aim reference, enrolment record, price, delivery plan and skills test. An employer may use more than one unit only where each passes its own eligibility and prior-learning assessment.
Provider delivery sequence
Confirm authority and the rule version
Check current contractual permissions, service setup and the published unit specification. Apply the funding rules in force on the learner's recorded start date; the April–July rules cover starts from 28 April to 31 July 2026.
Complete initial assessment
Confirm age, employment, qualifying role, autonomy and a genuine knowledge-and-skills gap. Record prior learning. Under the April–July rules, a learner with at least 50% overlap is ineligible; there is no reduced price calculation for prior learning.
Agree the unit and price
Use the exact approved reference and learning aim. Each current unit has a £750 maximum. Record any employer-paid amount above the maximum and use the correct levy or government funding route.
Plan at least 30 delivery hours
Delivery hours must build new, directly relevant knowledge and skills, with tutor and learner together live in a physical or virtual space. Plan them during normal working hours, outside productive job activity, and entirely between the start and end dates.
Execute the training plan
Agree the plan before delivery and obtain all required signatures by the first funding milestone. The employer must release the learner during working hours. Unit training cannot be subcontracted under the April–July rules.
Test, validate and evidence completion
Run a valid, robust and proportionate skills test. A suitably qualified person independent of training delivery develops it. Retain the learner, provider and employer completion sign-off, including employer validation of new workplace knowledge and skills.
Funding controls for April–July 2026 starts
Non-levy employer
Government funding covers the agreed price up to the £750 maximum. Do not incorrectly apply a routine 5% employer contribution.
Levy funds available
Use available apprenticeship service account funds up to the agreed price and published maximum.
Levy funds insufficient
Government pays 95% up to the maximum and the employer pays the 5% balance. The employer also pays any price above £750.
Funding is paid in two milestones: 30% when at least 30% of planned delivery hours have been completed, and 70% after all planned delivery hours, the skills test and completion sign-off are complete. Retain actual-hours evidence as well as the original plan.
Skills test and employer validation
- The skills test is mandatory for every learner and must cover the unit's approved outcomes.
- The format should be agreed with the employer and documented in the training plan.
- A suitably qualified person who is independent of delivery develops the test.
- The assessment approach must be valid, robust and proportionate.
- The employer validates that the learner has gained and can apply the new knowledge and skills.
- The provider, learner and employer complete the required sign-off.
- An extended assessment can be offered only as an optional addition; it does not replace the mandatory skills test.
Interactive provider readiness checklist
Current AI leadership unit readiness
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Frequently asked questions
Can a provider enrol a new learner on AU0002?
No. It is withdrawn and has no earliest start date. Assess the need against AU0009, AU0010 or AU0011.
What are the current funded AI leadership units?
AU0009 covers strategy and opportunity, AU0010 adoption, procurement and governance, and AU0011 delivery and organisational transformation. Each is Level 5, 30 minimum hours and funded up to £750.
What counts as a delivery hour?
Live physical or virtual training with tutor and learner present, building new unit-relevant knowledge and skills during normal working hours but outside the productive job role.
How are units funded?
For April–July starts, non-levy employers receive government funding to the rate. Levy employers use available funds; when those are insufficient, government pays 95% to the rate and the employer pays 5%. Always check start-date rules.
What assessment is mandatory?
A provider skills test, developed by a suitably qualified person independent of delivery, followed by provider, learner and employer completion sign-off with employer validation.
Official sources
Build a compliant unit-delivery workflow
Keep unit selection, delivery hours, funding evidence, skills testing and employer validation tied to the correct approved reference.