2026 Update: Leadership Development in a Changing Apprenticeship Landscape
As government funding priorities evolve, organisations are having to update strategies for supporting leadership and management development.
Since early commentary on apprenticeship reform at the start of 2026, further announcements have clarified the direction of workplace training in England. The emerging Growth and Skills Levy confirms a gradual rebalancing of public investment toward entry-level opportunities and youth employment schemes, whilst there’s a reduced government support in leadership and management programmes.
Funding priorities are shifting
From September 2026, public funding will be withdrawn for new starters on several higher-level apprenticeship standards, particularly at Level 7. This reflects a policy decision to focus public investment on earlier career pathways rather than advanced professional qualifications.
For employers, this does not signal the end of leadership development. Though it does mean leadership learning will sit alongside traditional levy-funded routes.
Other changes that are emerging will also reshape how organisations engage with apprenticeships:
- Levy funds are expiring more quickly, reducing long-term planning flexibility
• Removal of the automatic government top-up to levy accounts
• Greater flexibility through shorter, modular training aligned to priority skills
Many operational details of the Growth and Skills Levy are still being finalised, leaving employers navigating a period of transition rather than a finished system.
From Apprenticeships to Continuous Leadership Learning
Leadership apprenticeships have long offered organisations a structured way to develop managers. As funding priorities evolve, many employers are reconsidering whether a single qualification can realistically carry the full weight of leadership development.
Increasingly, organisations are moving toward continuous leadership learning.
Instead of development happening once every few years, learning is becoming embedded throughout a manager’s career. This approach supports leaders when challenges arise rather than months after they have already learned the lesson the hard way.
Continuous development enables organisations to:
- Support newly promoted managers earlier
- Reinforce behaviours consistently across teams
- Adapt learning quickly as organisational needs change
In short, leadership development becomes less about attending a programme and more about building capability over time.
Supporting Leaders Without Apprenticeships
The timing of these reforms matters because the management role itself has changed dramatically.
Today’s managers are often operating in what many organisations now recognise as the megamanager era. Managers are leading larger teams, navigating hybrid working, supporting wellbeing, delivering performance outcomes and acting as culture carriers all at once.
Therefore, managers need learning that helps them in real moments:
- Handling difficult conversations
- Prioritising competing demands
- Supporting team wellbeing without burning themselves out
- Leading through constant organisational change
Flexible learning approaches help bridge this gap by providing practical, accessible support that enables organisations to continue developing leaders effectively, even where apprenticeship routes are no longer funded or viable.
How Video Arts Helps Bridge the Leadership Development Gap
As organisations adapt to changing funding arrangements, many are seeking leadership learning solutions that ensure continuity regardless of policy shifts.
Video Arts leadership and management learning are designed precisely for this environment.
Through realistic workplace scenarios, storytelling, and behaviour-focused video learning, organisations can:
- Support first-time managers as they step into increasingly complex roles
- Reinforce leadership behaviours across dispersed or hybrid teams
- Provide development outside formal apprenticeship cohorts
- Maintain leadership capability even as funding models evolve
Moreover, organisations are also looking for solutions that deliver impact without placing additional strain on learning budgets. Video Arts offers flexible, competitively priced learning options that allow organisations to continue investing in leadership capability even where levy funding is no longer available or fully aligned to their needs.
Turning Policy Change into Opportunity
The evolving apprenticeship landscape presents an opportunity to rethink how leadership capability is developed.
While funding structures are changing, expectations of managers continue to grow. Organisations are asking more of leaders than ever before. The risk is not that apprenticeships change; it allows leadership development to slow down while management responsibility accelerates.
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