How to bring AI training to your employer

You’ve found a way to get a degree-level AI qualification that’s government-funded and fits around your job. There’s just one step left: getting your employer on board. The good news is that, for most employers, it’s an easy yes — here’s how to ask.

Why employers usually say yes

This isn’t you asking for an expensive favour. Apprenticeship training is funded by government, so it costs your employer little or nothing — fully funded if they pay the apprenticeship levy, and 95% funded if they don’t. In return they get a more capable, more productive team member, and the work you do during the apprenticeship happens on real tasks inside the business. Many employers see it as a win they’d be daft to turn down — see why it stacks up for employers.

How to raise it

Keep it simple and lead with the benefit to the business. Something like:

“I’ve found a way to get a recognised, degree-level AI qualification that’s government-funded and fits around my job. It would make me more productive and bring more AI know-how into the team — would you be open to me looking into it?”

What to send them

Point your manager to our page for employers and our fully funded AI apprenticeship overview. Both explain the funding, the time commitment (about six hours a week, on real work) and the eligibility in plain terms. If it helps, we’re happy to talk your employer through the options directly — just put us in touch.

The bottom line

A £18,000 qualification, funded by government, that makes you more valuable and your employer more competitive — one of the biggest funded training opportunities in the UK right now. The hardest part is just asking.

AI Skills Training arranges AI apprenticeship training delivered by approved, RoATP-registered training partners; the qualification is awarded following independent end-point assessment. Funding is subject to eligibility, confirmed before enrolment. “Degree level” refers to a Level 4 qualification.

How to frame it so your manager says yes

Managers say no to cost and risk, not to growth. So lead with the part that removes both: the training is funded up to £18,000 and, for many employers, costs nothing. Then connect it to a problem they already care about — the reports that take too long, the admin backlog, the work you could take on with sharper tools.

Keep your ask small. You are not asking them to commit today, only to let you check eligibility and bring back the details. That is a low-risk yes — and it is usually the one that gets the ball rolling.

AI Skills Training arranges places on apprenticeship training delivered by approved, RoATP-registered training partners; the qualification is awarded following an independent end-point assessment. Funding is subject to eligibility, confirmed before enrolment. The AI & Automation Practitioner is a Level 4 (degree-level) standard, funded up to £18,000 per learner.