Scenario-based written assessment
A realistic AI governance or strategy scenario relevant to your sector. You are asked to analyse it and recommend a course of action, demonstrating your knowledge and skills across the unit’s learning outcomes.
AU0002 AI leadership unit — is it right for me?
A plain-English guide for individuals who have been recommended AU0002, are considering it, or whose employer is proposing to enrol them. This covers what you will actually learn, what a typical week looks like, what the Skills Test involves, and how to make the case to your employer if they haven’t already agreed to fund it.
Level 5
Learner guide
AI leadership
No technical background needed
Published: April 2026. Based on the Skills England AU0002 specification (V1.0, approved 17/03/2026). Delivery hours confirmed by Skills England in April 2026.
About this guide — Written by Michael Joseph Bourke of The Skills Partnership. Content draws directly on the official AU0002 Skills England specification (V1.0).
What AU0002 is, in plain English
AU0002 is a short, structured training course — funded through the Growth and Skills Levy — that develops the knowledge and skills you need to lead AI adoption responsibly within your organisation. It is a Level 5 programme (equivalent depth to a foundation degree) running over several weeks, and it culminates in a Skills Test rather than a traditional exam.
It is not a technical AI course. You will not be learning to build machine learning models or write code. AU0002 is for people who are responsible for directing AI use, not building it — setting strategy, governing risk, making procurement decisions, and leading the human side of AI-enabled change.
It was approved by Skills England in March 2026 and is the first funded course of its kind specifically designed for leaders and senior managers dealing with the practical challenge of deploying AI at organisational scale.
Is this the right course for me?
AU0002 is a strong fit if you…
- Are a senior manager, director, or aspiring to that level
- Are responsible (or will be) for AI tools, platforms, or strategy in your organisation
- Feel confident using AI but less confident governing it, evaluating vendors, or managing the risks
- Are in a regulated sector where AI governance is increasingly scrutinised
- Need a formal credential to represent the organisation credibly on AI
- Cannot commit to a 12-month full apprenticeship programme
- Are 19 or over and employed
Consider a different route if you…
- Want to build AI systems or work as a data scientist — look at the Level 4 AI & Automation Practitioner apprenticeship (ST1512)
- Are looking for broad leadership development beyond AI — the Senior Leader apprenticeship (ST0480) covers more ground over a longer programme
- Are 18 or under — units require learners to be 19+
- Are not currently employed — units are for employed adults only
- Want a full qualification (degree, diploma) rather than a unit completion
What you will actually learn — each outcome in plain English
AU0002 has five learning outcomes. Here is what each one means in practice — not in specification language.
1
Making good AI buying decisions
Formal title: Make evidence-based investment and procurement decisions for AI tools, platforms and suppliers
By the end of this section you will be able to evaluate an AI vendor properly — not just assess whether the product does what it claims, but whether the commercial terms protect your organisation. You will understand what to look for in data ownership clauses, what vendor lock-in actually means and how to mitigate it, how to stress-test a supplier’s resilience commitments, and how to plan for the day you might need to exit a contract.
If you have ever sat in a vendor demonstration and felt the pressure to decide without a proper evaluation framework, this is the outcome that addresses that.
2
Running AI governance that actually works
Formal title: Sponsor and operate a governance framework that safeguards lawful, ethical and responsible AI use
This is about building the structures that ensure AI is used responsibly in your organisation — not as a one-off policy document, but as a living governance framework with clear accountability, transparent decision-making, and defined roles for oversight. You will work through what good AI ethics looks like in practice (not just in principle) and how to embed it in decisions that people actually make day-to-day.
The practical output here is the ability to answer the question: “If something goes wrong with an AI decision in our organisation, who is accountable, and how do we know?”
3
Managing AI risk like you manage any other enterprise risk
Formal title: Oversee AI risk management within the organisation’s enterprise risk framework
AI risk is not fundamentally different from other enterprise risk — it just has some specific characteristics you need to understand: model drift (where an AI system’s outputs degrade over time without anyone noticing), emerging bias in automated decisions, security vulnerabilities in AI systems, and the challenge of auditing a system whose reasoning is not always transparent.
This outcome develops your ability to bring AI risk into the same framework you use for operational, financial, and reputational risk — so it is managed systematically rather than ad hoc.
4
Leading people through AI change without losing them
Formal title: Lead and coordinate cross-functional delivery of AI-enabled organisational change
Most AI implementation failures are not technical failures — they are people failures. Staff who were not engaged, managers who were not briefed, roles that changed without enough support, and innovation that moved faster than the organisation’s culture could absorb.
This outcome builds your capability to lead through that. How to assess which roles AI adoption affects most. How to engage stakeholders at different levels of enthusiasm and anxiety. How to design reskilling support that actually works. How to balance the pressure to innovate with the practical constraints of an organisation that has to keep running while it changes.
5
Representing your organisation on AI to the outside world
Formal title: Represent the organisation credibly in external AI discussions and anticipate evolving AI regulation
Regulators, auditors, clients, and partners are increasingly asking organisations to demonstrate AI governance competence, not just claim it. This outcome develops your ability to engage those conversations credibly — to explain your governance approach, respond to regulatory enquiries, and anticipate what is coming in AI regulation before it lands on your desk.
It also covers how to stay current with AI developments in a way that is manageable for a busy leader — not by reading every AI paper published, but by building the monitoring habits that surface what matters for your organisation.
What you will be able to do differently after completing AU0002
In the boardroom
Contribute confidently to AI strategy discussions and challenge vendor claims with a structured evaluation framework behind you.
With regulators and auditors
Demonstrate formal AI governance training when asked about accountability for AI decisions. Not just a policy on a shelf — a documented, trained competence.
With procurement
Evaluate AI suppliers against a proper framework — beyond demos and sales pitches to the contractual, data, and exit terms that actually matter.
With your team
Lead AI-enabled change with more confidence about how to engage staff, manage anxiety, and build the reskilling support that makes adoption stick.
With risk
Bring AI into your enterprise risk framework rather than treating it as a special case. Know what to monitor, what to escalate, and what an AI incident response looks like.
With clients and partners
Respond credibly to AI due diligence questions from enterprise clients — increasingly common in regulated sectors.
What delivery typically looks like week-by-week
Exact delivery hours and format will be confirmed by Skills England in April 2026 and set by your training provider. A well-designed Level 5 AI leadership unit will typically follow a structure like this:
Weeks 1–2
Employer and learner alignment. Your provider will run a scoping session with you and your line manager to understand your organisation’s specific AI context. This shapes the applied projects you will work on throughout the unit.
Weeks 3–8
Structured learning sequence. Typically 5–6 facilitated sessions (online or in person) covering the five learning outcome areas. Between sessions you complete applied projects using real situations from your own organisation — not fictional case studies.
Weeks 9–10
Evidence compilation and Skills Test preparation. You bring together evidence from your applied projects to demonstrate the learning outcomes. Your provider will brief you on the Skills Test format and what the pass standard requires.
Weeks 11–12
Skills Test and employer validation. You complete the Skills Test in the format set by your provider (scenario, presentation, portfolio, or written assessment). Your employer then reviews the outcome and validates that you have applied the skills in your workplace context.
There is no 20% off-the-job requirement. You remain in your role throughout. Total time commitment outside of sessions is typically 2–4 hours per week for applied project work.
What the Skills Test involves
The Skills Test is the formal assessment at the end of the unit. It is designed and delivered by your training provider — there is no external exam board, no GCSE-style written paper, and no EPA organisation involved.
At Level 5, providers typically use one of these formats:
Structured presentation
You present your analysis of a real AI challenge from your organisation to a panel including your provider and a subject matter reviewer. Q&A tests depth of understanding.
Reflective portfolio
A structured record of the applied projects you completed during the unit — what you did, what you decided, what the outcome was, and what you would do differently. Annotated against the learning outcomes.
Your provider will tell you which format they use before the unit starts. You will not be surprised by the format on the day. After the Skills Test, your employer validates the result by confirming you have demonstrated the competencies in your workplace — this is typically a brief sign-off from your line manager, not a reassessment.
How to get your employer to fund it
If your employer hasn’t already agreed to fund AU0002, use these points
On cost: If your employer pays the Apprenticeship Levy, AU0002 is funded from their existing levy account — there is no additional cost to the department budget, and unspent levy expires after 24 months. For non-levy employers, the government covers 95% of the training cost.
On time: AU0002 runs for around 8–12 weeks and does not require you to reduce your working hours or take time away from your role. There is no 20% off-the-job requirement.
On value: The specific value proposition depends on your role. For leaders with procurement or technology oversight: “AI vendor decisions are getting more consequential and I want a proper evaluation framework.” For compliance or risk leads: “Regulators are asking about AI governance accountability and I want formal training behind me.” For HR or people leads: “We have AI tools rolling out across the organisation and I need to lead the workforce change properly.”
On credentials: AU0002 is a Skills England-approved, publicly funded programme with a formal pass outcome — not a workshop or vendor-sponsored certificate. That matters for regulatory due diligence and client-facing AI governance claims.
Your questions answered
Do I need a technical AI background to do AU0002?
No. AU0002 is a leadership and governance unit. You do not need to build AI systems or have a data science background. A working understanding of what AI tools do in a business context is sufficient starting knowledge.
How much time does it take each week?
Based on similar Level 5 programmes, expect 1–2 structured sessions per week plus around 2–4 hours for applied project work between sessions. No 20% off-the-job requirement — you stay in your role throughout.
What does the Skills Test look like?
Designed by your training provider at Level 5 — typically a scenario assessment, structured presentation, or reflective portfolio, not a traditional exam. Your provider will explain the format before the unit begins.
Will I get a qualification?
You receive a Skills Test pass and employer validation — a formal Skills England-approved outcome. It is not a degree or diploma, but it is a publicly funded, quality-assured programme with a recorded formal pass outcome.
Can I progress to a full apprenticeship after completing AU0002?
Yes. Completing AU0002 does not prevent you from starting a full apprenticeship. If it identifies that you would benefit from the Senior Leader programme (ST0480) or the Level 4 AI & Automation Practitioner (ST1512), progression is available.
Sources
- Skills England: AU0002 AI Leadership — Developing AI Strategy (V1.0, approved 17/03/2026) — skillsengland.education.gov.uk/apprenticeship-units/AU0002
- ESFA: Growth and Skills Levy funding rules — gov.uk/guidance/apprenticeship-funding-rules
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