National Apprenticeship Week 2026 (9th – 15th February) is a moment to shine a light on apprentices across the country, celebrating their achievements and the powerful impact that apprenticeships have on organisations and communities.
This year’s theme, centred on Skills for Life, resonates strongly with us. As an organisation that champions high‑quality training and assessment, we’re proud to support apprentices nationally through our End-point Assessment Organisation service and to develop our own colleagues through apprenticeship learning too.
Strengthening our Organisation Through Apprenticeship Learning
Thanks to an opportunity facilitated by our CEO, Fabienne Bailey, and Baltic Apprenticeships (an Ofsted Outstanding training provider), six members of staff at Gateway Qualifications began the Level 4 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Practitioner (CRSP) apprenticeship. Their training is fully funded through an apprenticeship levy transfer secured by Baltic from one of their corporate clients.
Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability are becoming essential capabilities for all organisations. For us, they are central to strengthening our organisational development, demonstrating leadership to our customers and partners, and embedding responsible practice into everything we do. The apprenticeship offers our team the knowledge, skills, and behaviours to help shape Gateway Qualifications’ sustainability strategy for the future.
This initiative is more than professional development — it’s about living the values we promote. By investing in our staff through apprenticeships, we’re:
- building long‑term skills for life
- strengthening our organisational sustainability capability
- modelling the power of lifelong learning
- contributing to the wider mission of National Apprenticeship Week.
To be absolutely clear, and in line with our commitment to robust governance, there is no conflict of interest; Gateway Qualifications is an end-point assessment organisation for this standard, but will not assess our staff apprentices.
Our Apprentices Share Their Experiences
To mark National Apprenticeship Week, we caught up with some of our apprentices to hear how they are progressing and what the programme has meant for them.
Emma Hance, Quality Improvement Manager, Gateway Qualifications:
“Sustainability feels like a natural extension of the work I already do around improvements, efficiencies, and compliance… I genuinely love learning, and I feel very lucky to be able to take on additional development through my role.
There are moments when I look at my diary and think, ‘Crikey, there’s a lot to get through,’ but it’s achievable with organisation and honesty about priorities. If you have the passion to learn, you’ll always find a way.
I’d encourage anyone thinking about an apprenticeship to go for it. The learning is meaningful, practical, and confidence‑boosting — one of the best things you can do for yourself.”
Jodi Garrett, Head of IT, Gateway Qualifications:
“I’ve always been passionate about sustainability, but my IT leadership career meant it sat quietly in the background. This apprenticeship has reignited that passion and given me the tools to turn interest into strategy and action.
Technology has a real environmental footprint, but it’s also a powerful force for positive change. I’m learning how IT can reduce its impact while improving access, experience, and equity for people.
It fits around my role, connects me with like‑minded professionals, and has given me new language, new tools, and new purpose. Whether you’re early or well into your career, I’d genuinely say: go for it.”
Why You Should Consider the CRSP Standard
The Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability apprenticeship is not only a valuable programme to offer your learners, but it’s also a powerful development opportunity for your own staff. CSR underpins the health, resilience, and credibility of every organisation, touching everything from carbon reduction and waste management to ethical recruitment, wellbeing, financial sustainability, supply‑chain decisions, and community impact. By training apprentices in these areas, providers can give their learners a future‑focused, high‑impact pathway. But equally, by enrolling your own employees, you strengthen your organisation’s ability to operate responsibly, reduce risks, innovate, and meet growing expectations around social and environmental responsibility. In short, this is an apprenticeship that benefits the people you teach and the people you employ.
Natasha, our End-point Assessment Operations Manager, explains:
“I’m undertaking this apprenticeship alongside colleagues from across the organisation. We’re coming together as a team to develop our CR&S strategy and explore how we can improve our sustainability — from our systems and processes to our financial resilience and the environment we work in.”