Reform Standards Update: Where Things Currently Stand

A wide range of Accelerate People’s apprenticeship standards are currently moving through reform and review activity at different speeds. As an organisation actively involved in Trailblazer Groups and wider sector engagement, we continue to monitor progress closely across the standards we assess.

At the moment, activity spans several phases — from early reform discussions, through Trailblazer updates and survey activity, to later‑stage review and live delivery. This variation is expected, as each standard follows its own development and approval journey.

The table below provides an overview of the current position of the digital standards we offer.

Our standards – current position

Standard	Level	Current phase
Software Development Technician	L3	Not started
Software Developer	L4	Not started
Software Tester	L4	Not started
Business Analyst	L4	Update in progress (Trailblazer Group activity)
Data Analyst	L4	Update in progress (Trailblazer Group activity)
Digital Learning Designer	L5	Update in progress (Trailblazer Group activity)
Business Administrator	L3	Survey in progress
Digital Product Manager	L4	Survey in progress
AI & Automation Practitioner	L4	Awaiting final sign‑off and approval*
AI Data Specialist	L7	Awaiting final sign‑off and approval
Data Engineer	L5	Awaiting final sign‑off and approval
Data Technician	L3	Awaiting final sign‑off and approval*
DevOps Engineer	L4	Awaiting final sign‑off and approval
Digital Support Technician	L3	Awaiting final sign‑off and approval
Information Communications Technician	L3	Awaiting final sign‑off and approval
IT Solutions Technician	L3	Awaiting final sign‑off and approval
Multi‑channel Marketer	L3	Awaiting final sign‑off and approval
Network Engineer	L4	Awaiting final sign‑off and approval
Content Creator	L3	Live
Data Protection & Information Governance Practitioner	L4	Live

* Indicative versions have been published, with further confirmation and refinement expected.

What this means for providers

While progress varies by standard, the overall picture is one of steady movement rather than immediate change. Much of the current activity is focused on refining standards, reviewing knowledge, skills and behaviours, and testing proposals through provider and employer feedback.

We’ll continue to stay closely engaged with this work and will share partner‑appropriate updates directly where relevant. More broadly, we’ll keep highlighting key themes and practical implications as standards move through each phase.

While timelines remain standard‑specific, we anticipate that some standards may begin moving through final confirmation and into live delivery from around May, subject to completion of the relevant review stages.

If you have questions about a specific standard, or want to understand what these developments could mean for your learners, please get in touch with the team.

We also assess a small number of additional standards where we are not currently part of the Trailblazer Group activity. For these, progress may still be underway, but publicly visible information is more limited.