National Apprenticeships Week 2026: Apprenticeships - Time to claim your money back

Our purpose: inclusive opportunities for all

Apprenticeships offer a unique chance to unlock potential at every level. Our aim is to ensure these opportunities are genuinely inclusive and accessible, empowering individuals to develop the confidence, capability and credibility they need to succeed. At the same time, we want to support organisations to build strong, resilient teams who are equipped to meet the demands of today’s workplace.

Three specialist strands

To ensure our programmes truly reflect the people we serve, our inclusion lens is brought to life through three specialist strands. Each is designed to respond to real, lived experiences and the specific barriers that can limit progression in our sectors.

Women leaders
Designed to address gender-specific leadership challenges, this strand supports women to navigate barriers, build confidence and step into their full potential.

Leaders from ethnically diverse backgrounds
Focused on equipping leaders to navigate systemic barriers, increase visibility and progress into senior and influential roles within their organisations.

Leaders from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds
Supporting leaders to overcome socio-economic barriers by building networks, confidence and influence, enabling them to thrive and progress in organisational settings.

Together, these strands help create leadership that is more representative, inclusive and reflective of the customers and communities our industries serve.

Why apprenticeships matter more than ever

Across hospitality, travel, leisure and retail, employers are navigating:

• High staff turnover and seasonal demand

• Rising expectations around leadership, wellbeing, inclusion and customer experience

• A growing need for adaptable, multi-skilled employees

Our apprenticeships respond directly to these challenges. They allow you to build skills that are relevant to your business, retain people by investing in progression and create clear career pathways from operational roles into management and specialist positions. In people-focused industries, apprenticeships are not about filling vacancies. They are about future-proofing the workforce.

Very recently, through our accreditation journey, we have seen first-hand how apprenticeships help employers grow talent from within and align learning with real business needs. For individuals, they open doors to confidence, progression and long-term careers. For the sector, they create a pipeline of capable professionals who truly understand the industry from the inside out.

The challenge: making the levy work for you

The apprenticeship levy was designed to encourage long-term investment in skills. In practice, many organisations struggle to make it work effectively. Common challenges include:

• Limited understanding of how the levy can be used beyond entry-level roles

• High-pressure environments with little capacity to support learning pathways

• Concerns about operational disruption

• Uncertainty around programme quality and outcomes

As a result, levy funds are often left unused, while businesses continue to recruit externally for roles that could be developed internally.

Turning investment into impact

For years, our sectors have been paying into the apprenticeship levy but taking far less back out. Millions of pounds that were intended to build skills and strengthen our workforce are left unused every year. In effect, hospitality, travel, leisure and retail are contributing to a system that they are not fully benefiting from.

This represents a significant missed opportunity. At a time when skills shortages are persistent, budgets are under intense pressure and recruitment costs continue to rise, the levy offers a rare, protected route to invest in people without drawing on already stretched training budgets.

There is also a much deeper issue at stake. When levy funds go unused, so too does the chance to open doors for people who may otherwise struggle to access development and progression. Apprenticeships can be a powerful mechanism for investing in diverse talent, creating fairer access to opportunity, and building leadership that genuinely reflects the communities and customers our industries serve.

When learning and development budgets are cut back to the bone, the levy should not be seen as optional or complex. It should be seen as essential. It is one of the few remaining ways to continue building capability, strengthening inclusion and developing future leaders, even in the toughest trading conditions.

The money is already there. The opportunity is already there. The question is whether, as an industry, we are ready to claim it and use it to shape a stronger, more inclusive future.

Our approach: leadership expertise applied to apprenticeships

While we are new to apprenticeship delivery, our foundation is strong. WiHTL & DiR have an established track record in transformational leadership development. We know how to design learning that is practical, engaging and high impact and we bring that same approach to apprenticeships.

Our Flagship Five Programmes, covering leadership, coaching, operational, governance and people management skills, have been carefully designed to build capability at multiple levels. They are inclusive, relevant and immediately applicable in the workplace.

By bringing this expertise into apprenticeships, we offer learning that:

• Equips apprentices with real-world skills and confidence

• Encourages people to step into leadership and professional responsibilities

• Delivers measurable business impact

• Creates cross-industry learning through a powerful community spanning hospitality, travel, leisure and retail

We also tailor every programme to organisational priorities, ensuring relevance and meaningful outcomes.

What employers can do differently

From our perspective as a newly accredited provider, the organisations that benefit most from apprenticeships do three things well:

Start with strategy, not standards
Ask what skills and roles will drive the business forward, then build from there.

Treat apprenticeships as development, not administration
Successful programmes are embedded into talent and performance processes, not managed as a standalone task.

Work in partnership
Choose a provider who understands your sector, pressures and people, and who will co-design learning that works in your reality.

A shared responsibility

Our role is about more than delivery. It is about helping organisations navigate the system, make confident choices and create learning that has real impact.

National Apprenticeships Week is a reminder that the future of hospitality, travel, leisure and retail depends on the choices we make today. The levy is already there. The real question is not whether you can afford to invest in apprenticeships, but whether you can afford not to.

If you would like to explore how our inclusive apprenticeships can support capability and leadership development in your organisation, please contact Steph Cook, Head of Business Development, at stephanie@wihtlanddir.com.

Feeling inspired? Read more of our blogs