Here at Onefile we were delighted to welcome providers from a wide variety of organisations to the second in our popular two-part webinar series on Apprenticeship Units.
Our webinar on July 1, Apprenticeship Units are here: Ready to support you next focused on what these programmes are, why they’ve been introduced, how providers can deliver them effectively using Onefile and what best practice for assessment and quality assurance looks like.
Part two of the webinar also formed the basis for a practical discussion giving attendees the context, confidence and understanding they’ll need as apprenticeship units are rolled out.
Hosted by Andrew McElwee, Onefile’s Business Development Manager, the event featured presentations by Onefile Product Manager Mike Fairbrother and Phil Carswell, Standardisation and Implementation Manager with award-winning assessment organisation, Highfield Assessment.
Mike explained what apprenticeship units are, why they are important and how Onefile can support their delivery right from enrolment through to completion. In his talk, Phil shared best practice from a design assessment and quality assurance perspective, together with some helpful practical guidance on programme delivery.
Mike outlined the key differences between apprenticeship units and apprenticeships – the main ones being course duration, what the programme is for and who is eligible to take part.
Despite their name, the units are not apprenticeships, but much shorter, bite size programmes for employers looking to upskill their employees aged 19 plus.
Introduced in April 2026, the first tranche of courses has been designed expressly to target skills gaps in emerging new sectors such as AI and green energy. And, unlike apprenticeship standards, which typically take at least 12 months, apprenticeship units can be completed within just one to 16 weeks.
In an informative product walkthrough, Mike illustrated how Onefile’s platform – already has the built-in flexibility and functionality to support the units’ delivery, satisfying quality and funding compliance.
And he unveiled what’s coming up next for providers looking to get on board with apprenticeship units. Updated settings in Onefile’s platform, adapted to meet the apprenticeship units’ specific needs, mean that employers can:
Phil’s presentation detailed how units can be designed and delivered to meet employer’s exact workplace needs, with the option there to deliver the training intensively, in, for instance, a week-long bloc or for one day a week over the full 16 weeks.
He focused primarily on what quality assurance would look like for apprenticeship units, adding that employers shouldn’t over complicate it. Phil recommended that they ‘not move too far away from what they already have in place for apprenticeships’, as long as they can justify what they are doing.
And, with regards to quality assurance, he said his organisation was looking at strategies that ask:
Phil also considered the question of how much evidence is enough, with his answer being any amount as long as it ticks all the Knowledge and Skills boxes. He added that as with all assessments, it was absolutely a case of quality over quantity.
To find out how Onefile can support you in your apprenticeship delivery, contact us for a discovery call.