—By Samantha Sawyer, CEO of Accelerate People

Last month we saw the England Women’s National Football Team (Lionesses) win the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025 . They delivered under pressure, held their shape when it mattered most, and proved what real resilience looks like in high-performance environments. That kind of result isn’t just about talent. It’s built through discipline, preparation, and an ability to recover, recalibrate and respond. Repeatedly. That mindset resonates far beyond the pitch.

In the apprenticeship sector, we’re navigating one of the most complex periods of reform in recent memory. Assessment design is changing. New principles are being introduced. Provider roles are evolving. It’s a time of ambition, but also a time of pressure. It’s easy to get distracted by all this, but we also need to keep a laser sharp focus on our core business while it's all happening.

It’s also a moment to step back and think about the sector itself. For over a decade, apprenticeships have faced continuous change, from frameworks to standards, from funding models to regulatory expectations. That level of transformation, over so many years, has tested everyone involved - providers, employers, apprentices, and assessment organisations alike. And while change is essential, so is consistency. If we want a thriving, future-ready apprenticeship ecosystem, we must actively promote the value of the sector and invest in its long-term resilience. Resilience isn’t just about surviving the reforms of today, but being prepared to adapt to whatever comes next, while maintaining quality, confidence, and clarity at every level.

At Accelerate People, we’ve embraced that pressure as fuel. We’ve used this moment to rethink how we work, embedding AI to improve quality and speed, redesigning internal systems, and scaling our platforms to deliver smarter, faster and fairer assessment. But none of that matters without the people behind it.

And what our team has shown, time and again, is the ability to adapt, respond and perform, not despite the pace of change, but through it. That’s resilience, and its already part of who we are.

Innovation isn’t just about AI, platforms or policy. It’s about the people who keep showing up and moving forward, especially when the conditions are tough.

The Lionesses didn’t win because everything went their way. They won because they were ready for when it didn’t. That same mindset is shaping how we lead at Accelerate People, and we’re proud of how our team continues to rise to the challenge.

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Apprenticeship Insights: is a ClickZ Media publication in the Education division