Apprenticeship units, skills and the future currency of credit

National Apprenticeship Week: 9 - 15 February 2026

National Apprenticeship Week is an apt time to consider the introduction of apprenticeship units, first set out in the Post‑16 Education and Skills White Paper, which marks a significant shift in how employers may soon be able to use Growth and Skills Levy (GSL) funding to meet evolving workforce needs. Although the detailed design is still being developed, the plan is for apprenticeship units to become available from April 2026, beginning with pilot areas such as AI, digital, and engineering, sectors central to the Government’s Industrial Strategy and Skills England priorities. Apprenticeship units will complement existing apprenticeships and be based on ‘employer-designed’ occupational standards.

A key motivation behind this approach is to encourage smaller employers to use the GSL to access training for their staff. Many are discouraged by the time commitment required for full apprenticeships, yet would welcome shorter, targeted training options. While the formal criteria for apprenticeship units are still emerging, they are expected to relate closely to existing apprenticeship standards. One possibility is that instead of developing full occupational competence, an apprenticeship unit might cover a subset of the knowledge, skills, and behaviours within a standard. This could allow learners to gain and “bank” partial occupational competence, stacking additional units over time to progress towards full competence. Some employers may also find that a single unit is enough to address an immediate skills gap, such as digital upskilling.

The flexibility of GSL‑funded units becomes even more powerful when combined in different ways to reflect specific employer needs. This opens the door to more accessible and responsive training and retraining pathways, without the multiyear commitment associated with higher or degree apprenticeships. For providers, this creates an opportunity to “unbundle” degree apprenticeship programmes, re‑packaging existing modules, already aligned to occupational standards, as ready‑to‑deliver apprenticeship units.

Many of the anticipated benefits mirror those of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE). Designed to support modular learning throughout a person’s career, the LLE enables individuals to train, retrain, and upskill in response to shifting labour market demands. Its stackable modules and the ability to combine learning from different providers give learners greater autonomy in shaping their educational journey. When accessed flexibly through LLE funding, these modules help individuals build the skills they need, while supporting employers’ workforce development strategies.

This overlap creates a clear policy opportunity. As highlighted by Stephenson and Hulbert (2024), aligning the LLE with the GSL has the potential to transform the skills landscape. Combining GSL‑funded apprenticeship units with LLE‑funded modules would give both learners and employers unprecedented flexibility. Employers could fund apprenticeship units tailored to immediate business needs, while individuals could complement them with LLE‑funded modules to advance their qualifications and career prospects. Both routes aim to support skill development and both operate within the wider framework of higher education or apprenticeship standards, making their alignment not only logical but beneficial.

However, one crucial element is currently missing: credit. Credit functions as the common currency within the LLE, where transparency and portability are central priorities. Apprenticeships, by contrast, are not defined in credit terms; they are specified by level and typical duration. While higher education qualifications routinely use credit (e.g. 360 credits for an undergraduate degree, equating to 3,600 learning hours), apprenticeship standards, in themselves, do not apply this system, even where knowledge, skills and behaviours are developed through higher education programmes.

For apprenticeship units to become genuinely stackable alongside LLE modules and to contribute meaningfully towards higher education qualifications, clear guidance on credit value will be essential. A practical solution would be to require apprenticeship units at Levels 4–6 to align with validated higher or degree apprenticeship programmes, mirroring the requirements placed on LLE modules. Since modules within such programmes already carry credit, this alignment would enable providers, including universities, to recognise apprenticeship units and award corresponding credit.

In doing so, two major government initiatives with shared objectives could be fully connected, creating a more coherent, flexible, and future‑focused skills system that benefits learners, employers, and providers alike.