L&D in the Apprenticeship Sector: From Compliance to Coaching Cultures

In a sector where performance metrics, funding rules, and regulatory frameworks shape so much of the day-to-day, it’s easy for apprenticeship delivery to become more about compliance than curiosity.

Yet, at its best, the apprenticeship model was always meant to be a coaching relationship, one that builds confidence, independence, and professional identity through reflective learning and ongoing dialogue.

So how do we, as leaders in learning and development, reignite that intent? How can we create genuine coaching cultures within training providers, where every conversation is an opportunity for growth, not just another tick in a progress tracker?

When compliance crowds out curiosity

Training providers operate in an environment of increasing scrutiny. Ofsted’s Education Inspection Framework (EIF) demands clear evidence of progress and intent; the ESFA monitors performance against funding compliance; employers expect return on investment.

Amid these pressures, many organisations develop a culture of accountability, but not necessarily reflection. Progress reviews can become transactional. Coaching becomes shorthand for “checking understanding” or “confirming progress” rather than creating the space for self-awareness and independent thinking.

The case for coaching in apprenticeship L&D

Research continues to show that coaching cultures are not just a “nice-to-have” but a “must have.”

According to the CIPD Coaching Culture Report (2023), organisations that embed coaching practices report higher levels of engagement, innovation, and retention. Similarly, Gallup (2023) found that managers who coach rather than direct see 21% higher performance and 25% greater engagement in their teams.

In the apprenticeship context, this translates into tangible outcomes:

• Improved retention: Learners who feel supported and empowered are more likely to persist through challenges.
• Greater independence: Coaching promotes self-directed learning, essential for End Point Assessment readiness.
• Enhanced quality: Reflective practice and feedback loops feed directly into curriculum intent, impact, and improvement.

When coaching becomes part of how people lead, learn, and perform, it strengthens both compliance and culture.

Unique challenges facing the sector

Despite the compelling case for coaching, providers face real-world constraints that can dilute its impact. Apprenticeship providers are uniquely complex ecosystems, balancing education, regulation, and commerce. Some of the key barriers include:

1. Operational pressure and caseloads

High caseloads and performance targets often leave little perceived space for reflective dialogue. Coaches can feel like they’re managing transactions, not transformation.

2. Varied coaching capability

Many development coaches are industry experts turned educators, passionate and experienced, but not necessarily trained in coaching methodology.

3. Remote and hybrid delivery models

The shift to remote and hybrid delivery reduces opportunities for informal, developmental conversations that would otherwise occur naturally.

4. Cultural tension between compliance and care

When performance frameworks emphasise data over dialogue, psychological safety. a cornerstone of coaching, can erode.

Building a coaching culture: from concept to practice

A coaching culture doesn’t emerge from a single workshop or tool; it’s an ecosystem built intentionally over time. Within the apprenticeship sector, that means embedding coaching principles into both learner experience and internal performance practice.

1. Define coaching within your context

Clarify what coaching means for your organisation. Is it a method for learner development, staff growth, or both? Avoid assuming a shared understanding, co-create one through discussion and reflection.

“When everyone defines coaching differently, it becomes nothing more than a buzzword. When you define it together, it becomes a culture.”

2. Invest in capability building

Develop structured coaching skills programmes for coaches, tutors, and managers. Link these to recognised frameworks such as the CIPD Coaching and Mentoring Standards or Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle.

Encourage reflection through practice sharing, peer coaching or “learning circles” where colleagues coach each other and discuss impact.

3. Reframe the performance conversation

Shift from compliance reviews to coaching conversations. Move from “What have you done?” to “What have you learned?” and “What will you try next?”

Performance metrics are essential, but without meaning, they don’t motivate. A coaching culture reconnects data to purpose.

4. Embed psychological safety

Leaders must model vulnerability and curiosity. Amy Edmondson’s work on psychological safety highlights that when people feel safe to ask questions, admit mistakes, and share uncertainty, learning accelerates.

In a coaching culture, “not knowing” becomes an invitation to explore, not a reason for reprimand.

5. Lead with intent and alignment

Align coaching development with organisational purpose: quality improvement plans, leadership development pathways, and learner experience strategies. This ensures coaching isn’t a parallel initiative but a unifying thread through every layer of performance.

“When coaching becomes how we do things, not something extra to do, the culture changes.”

From compliance to curiosity: the cultural shift

The apprenticeship sector’s greatest opportunity lies in its dual purpose: developing people for performance. That purpose extends beyond learners, it includes those who teach, assess, and lead.

By reframing coaching as a core enabler of both quality and engagement, training providers can transform their cultures from reactive to reflective. This is where performance management meets professional growth, not as opposing forces, but as complementary ones.

By Amy Brown, Head of Performance at the Impact Futures Group

References

• CIPD (2023) Coaching Culture Report. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
• Gallup (2023) State of the Global Workplace Report.
• Edmondson, A. (2019) The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth.
• Kolb, D. (1984) Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development.
• Ofsted (2024) Education Inspection Framework (EIF).