Business and AI Foundations
Nobody teaches the work every job contains. We do.
That’s how businesses thrive.
Emails, documents, reports, requests, bookings, records, data. Nobody’s job title – everybody’s job. It’s the work inside every role, and school and college never teach it. This programme does: properly, quickly, and with Copilot, Claude and ChatGPT built into every task from workshop one.
The result: new starters who own their work and contribute from the start, instead of spending two years learning by osmosis.
This programme trains people new to the workplace in the everyday work of every job – through three measured improvements to their own live work, coached one-to-one and assessed by an independent, Ofqual-regulated organisation.
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Key facts
- Qualification Level 2 Administration Assistant Apprenticeship
- Start Dates Jan · March · May · July · Sept · Nov
- Duration 8 months
- Structure 8 bitesize workshops, 8 one-to-one coaching sessions, 24/7 on-demand digital learning
- Outcomes 3 escalating, measured improvements – a task, a workload, a contribution – plus productivity and confidence uplift
- Funding £4,000 funding band – levy funded, commercial options available
Who is it for? The newest
people in every team.
Not just people with ‘administrator’ on the lanyard. Trainees in finance, coordinators in operations, juniors in HR, front-of-house, apprentices everywhere. Strip away the badge and the week is the same: emails, documents, reports, requests, bookings, records, Microsoft 365. Nobody applied for that work. Everybody does it. And nobody arrives having been taught it, because school and college don’t.
They’re bright, and fluent in technology as consumers. What’s missing is the workplace version: the email a client takes seriously, the spreadsheet a manager can trust, the file a colleague can find, the AI prompt that’s safe as well as clever. Shown once, properly, they don’t just keep up – they take ownership.
Count the people in their first two years of work across your organisation. That’s your cohort – and every one of them delivers three baselined, measured improvements before they qualify.
Built for the work inside every job
- Emails
- Reports
- Records
- Documents
- Bookings
- Requests
Learn, Deliver, Improve.
That’s how businesses thrive.
Most people absorb the working week by osmosis: trial, error and copying whoever sits nearest. We replace that with method. Nothing abstract, no generic AI awareness, no case studies about other people’s organisations – every skill lands on the participant’s own tasks, with Copilot, Claude and ChatGPT applied to real work, with real judgement, from day one.
The cycle repeats because ownership is built, not announced. Each pass is more ambitious than the last – first a single task, then a whole workload, then a contribution of the participant’s own choosing.
This is real work, not simulation. Participants improve live tasks their team depends on, with supervisor sign-off at every step, so the return on investment starts in cycle one – not after graduation. By the time they qualify, the improvements are already embedded in how the team works.
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Learn
Participants take something real from their own role – a task, a workload, a contribution – and learn to do it properly: what good looks like, who relies on it and why it matters. With their coach they capture the baseline: how long it takes, how often it goes wrong and what it costs the team.
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Deliver
They deliver it reliably to standard, right first time, under supervision – proving they can be trusted with the work before they change it. Consistency first, because improvement built on shaky delivery doesn’t stick.
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Improve
They make it quicker and more accurate – clearer processes, better use of software, AI applied safely and appropriately – then measure the gain against the baseline, log it in the ROI tracker and present the result to their supervisor and team.
One cycle, run three times over eight months,
and always focused on real work.
Every cycle turns potential into measured contribution, and builds the skills the standard demands along the way: professional communication, secure data handling, using AI with judgement, handling feedback and knowing when to escalate. Participants finish with three logged improvements – a task, a workload and a contribution of their own – a portfolio of evidence, and the habits of someone the team hands work to because it comes back right.
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Hands-on bitesize workshops, three hours each, online
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One-to-one coaching sessions
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Access to digital learning library
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Showcase to senior stakeholders
Measured, validated ROI.
No made-up claims.
Every improvement is baselined before it starts and measured after it lands, logged in our online ROI tracker and reviewed with you at months three, five and seven.
The maths is simple. A cohort of ten delivers thirty baselined, measured improvements inside eight months – funded by levy you’re already paying. The only cost of not running it is the invisible one: two more years of osmosis per person.
| For you: | For the line manager: | For the team: | For the participant: |
|---|---|---|---|
| Three measured improvements per participant, new starters productive in months rather than years, and a levy spend you can defend line by line. | Work that comes back right first time, and hours returned as routine emails, documents and data entry stop needing rework. | A multiplier, participants share every improvement they build, raising the standard of everyday work around them. | A national qualification, three logged wins with their name on, and AI fluency with judgement – the launchpad for Level 3. |
By implementing a new digital solution and improving cross-function communications, we’ve saved 375 workforce hours
Mandy Reeves, HR Administration Team Leader & Fuel Graduate · SOCOTEC
For the participant
Is this programme for you?
Here’s the straight version. Nobody taught you this stuff – not school, not college – and everyone at work assumes you know it. Eight months from now, you will. Not the theory: the actual work, done well, with the AI tools everyone’s talking about used properly, on your real job.
Think this is you? Send this page to your manager.
WHAT YOU LEAVE WITH
- A national Level 2 qualification – the Administration Assistant apprenticeship
- Three measured improvements with your name on them – a task, a workload, and a contribution you chose
- Hands-on fluency in Copilot, Claude and ChatGPT – and the judgement to know what never goes in them
- A coach in your corner every four weeks
- A clear route up: Level 3 Business and AI Practitioner, then Level 4 and beyond
What it costs. What it takes.
How we deliver
Delivery that fits.
Flex, Focus, Fusion. We offer the choice of three delivery models – so we can build the perfect programme to suit your precise needs, cohort size and preferred learning environment. Three delivery models, one decision: how do you need it delivered?
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Join an open programme
Maximum flexibility: any cohort size, ready-made intake dates, and participants learning alongside people from other industry sectors.
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Built for you
A closed cohort, tailored to your organisation: your language, your systems, your challenges as the working material.
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The best of both
Flex and Focus combined: open, flexible workshops sitting alongside closed workshops targeted at your organisation.
Getting started
From meeting to launch
in three simple steps.
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A scoping meeting
Thirty minutes. We map the roles that fit, size the cohort, confirm your levy position and agree the numbers you’ll report upward.
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We build the cohort
We handle it all. Eligibility, funding, paperwork, onboarding and manager briefings – the only admin required from you is signing off.
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They launch
New intakes every quarter. Receive your first measured results at your month-four review.
Programme structure in detail
Learn it in a workshop. Apply it to a live project. Embed it with a coach. Refresh it whenever it’s needed.
THE CADENCE
The rhythm is simple: one workshop and one coaching session every month, for eight months. Learn it in the workshop, apply it on the job, embed it with your coach – with Fuel’s digital library backing you up in between. The three Learn, Deliver, Improve cycles run across the eight months, so every workshop feeds a live improvement, not a folder of notes
THE eight COACHING SESSIONS – Three hours each, online
- The Working Week – how work actually flows: tasks, requests and priorities, and the tools of the trade, from Microsoft 365 to your first look at AI assistants in the flow of work.
- AI at Work – hands-on with Copilot, Claude and ChatGPT: prompting properly, checking outputs, and what never goes into a public tool.
- Writing That Works – emails, documents and reports people take seriously: the right channel, the right tone, drafted with AI and finished with judgement.
- Data You Can Trust – spreadsheets, records and databases: accurate entry, systematic filing and storage, and checking your own work before anyone asks.
- Safe and Secure – GDPR, confidentiality and everyday security: retention and redaction, strong passwords, two-step verification, and your digital footprint.
- Diaries, Bookings and Logistics – calendars, booking systems, meetings and events: the coordination work that makes a team run on time.
- When Things Go Wrong – spotting problems, fixing what’s in your remit, escalating what isn’t, and turning feedback into fuel.
- Own It – self-management, wellbeing and your development plan, plus preparation for the Showcase and your assessment.
Eight workshops • Three hours each • Online
One-to-one, every four weeks, each following that month’s workshop. Your coach turns learning into workplace application: choosing the task, capturing the baseline, applying the skills and tools live, and logging the measured result in the ROI tracker. Coaching is where the three improvements – a task, a workload, a contribution – actually happen, and where your portfolio of evidence builds itself along the way.
THE DIGITAL LIBRARY
A full suite of online training content, created and curated by Fuel Learning, available 24/7 – so every skill from every workshop is on tap at the moment you actually need it, not just the day you learned it.ne-to-one, every four weeks, each following that month’s workshop. Your coach turns learning into workplace application: choosing the task, capturing the baseline, applying the skills and tools live, and logging the measured result in the ROI tracker. Coaching is where the three improvements – a task, a workload, a contribution – actually happen, and where your portfolio of evidence builds itself along the way.
The Assessment
Assessment is set by an independent assessment organisation, regulated by Ofqual, and can be completed online. It isn’t a hurdle at the end – preparation runs inside the final cycle, so the qualification is earned by doing the job well, not by writing about it.
- A portfolio of evidence, built from the three completed improvement cycles.
- An additional assessment – such as an interview, presentation, project or Q&A – confirmed by the assessment organisation. The end-of-programme Showcase doubles as the rehearsal.
Graded Pass or Distinction
Where next? Progression routes
Two natural next steps. Step up in the same discipline with the Business and AI Practitioner (Level 3), or take the data route with the Data & AI Technician (Level 3). Emerging leaders can continue to the Data & AI Enabled Leader (Level 3).
Frequently asked questions
What does it cost us?
If you pay the Apprenticeship Levy, the programme is fully covered by it, up to the £4,000 funding band, with no course fees on top. Non-levy employers access the same programme with government covering 100% of the cost (subject to eligibility). One call and we’ll confirm your exact position.
How much time does it take out of the working week?
Around six hours a week of off-the-job learning, built into working hours: one three-hour workshop a month, a monthly coaching session, and project work that is the participant’s own role, done better. Most managers report time returned within the first cycle, not lost.
What about our data in AI tools?
Safe, compliant use is trained from day one, not bolted on. Participants learn to work within your organisation’s AI and data policies: what can and can’t go into which tool, how to check outputs, and how to build quality and data protection into every process they touch. If your organisation restricts certain tools, the programme adapts to the ones you’ve approved.
We use Microsoft Copilot / we don’t allow ChatGPT. Does the programme still work?
Yes. The skills of prompting, checking, challenging and building AI into a process transfer across every tool. We train on what your people can actually use at their desks.
What does the line manager have to do?
A short briefing at the start, sight of the ROI tracker as results land, and the final decision that their apprentice is ready for assessment. We handle the rest, including all scheduling if they prefer.
What happens if a participant changes role or leaves?
A short briefing at the start, sight of the ROI tracker as results land, and the final decision that their apprentice is ready for assessment. We handle the rest, including all scheduling if they prefer.
What if we invest in them and they leave?
The stronger risk runs the other way: development is one of the biggest drivers of retention, and people who are invested in stay. And because participants coach colleagues and document every improvement, the processes, templates and time savings remain yours even in the worst case.
Who is eligible?
Anyone employed in England, aged 16 or over, in a role that fits the standard. Prior qualifications rarely block enrolment, and English and maths requirements are handled within the programme in line with funding rules. We check all of this for you before anyone commits.
How many people do we need to enrol?
Cohorts work at any size, from a handful in one department to a rolling intake across the organisation. Larger cohorts compound the return: participants coach each other, improvements spread faster, and the ROI tracker rolls everything into one report you can put in front of the board.
When can they start?
We have new cohorts starting every quarter.
Not quite the right fit?
We have a range of programmes suitable for all levels of your organisation. If our Business and AI Foundations programme isn’t quite right for you, you may be interested in one of our programmes below.
Start your journey
Request a callback and a member of the Fuel team will talk you through our Business and AI Foundations programme, answer any questions you have, and show you how it will deliver stronger data and AI capability across your organisation.