A new three-year impact report from UK Boardroom Apprentice has highlighted the programme’s role in widening access to board roles, building confidence among aspiring board members and helping create stronger pathways into public life across the UK.
The UK Boardroom Apprentice Learning and Development Programme has published its three-year evaluation summary, covering the period from 2023 to 2025 and setting out the results achieved across three cohorts of Boardroom Apprentices. The evaluation summary shows growing demand for the programme, high completion rates, increasing engagement from host boards and strong evidence that participants leave with greater knowledge, confidence and readiness for board roles.
Eileen Mullan, who founded Boardroom Apprentice in 2017, said:
“Across these three years, the evidence is definitive. When people are provided with the right support, the right learning and the right opportunity, they do more than participate — they advance with conviction. They build capability, they strengthen their confidence, and they recognise that board service is not a distant ambition but a credible, attainable step in public leadership.
“This is why the Boardroom Apprentice matters. It is driving systemic change – deepening the understanding of the boardroom; it is widening the pathway into public life and ensuring a strong, diverse talent pipeline of board leaders across the UK”
Over the three-year period, the UK Boardroom Apprentice received 737 applications, with 176 individuals selected to take part in the programme. Across the same period, 177 applications were made by Boardroom Apprentices for board positions, with 52 board appointments secured to date. The programme worked with 101 different host boards, creating opportunities for aspiring board members to gain practical experience in real governance settings.
Boardroom Apprentice is a twelve month unique board learning, development and placement programme which enables those who would like to serve on a public or third sector board to learn and gain experience in a safe way before they take that step. Through structured learning, support from a Board Buddy and direct placement with a host board, the programme is designed to move the board member role from aspiration to reality.
The three-year evaluation summary shows that demand for UK Boardroom Apprentice has grown significantly over the three years with applications increasing from 182 in 2023 to 342 in 2025.
Evaluation findings across the programme point to consistently strong outcomes in relevance, quality and confidence building. In 2025, 96 per cent of participants rated the programme’s relevance to boardroom settings as excellent or good, 96 per cent rated its ability to build board level confidence, 95 per cent rated the quality of delivery as excellent or good, and 93 per cent said their expectations were fully met or exceeded.
Mandy Martin, UK Boardroom Apprentice alumna and a Public Appointed Board Member of Peak District National Park Authority, said: “The programme removed the ‘invisible barriers’ around how boards recruit and choose members. It helped me articulate my board-ready skills and experience with confidence and shifted my own mindset from waiting to be ready to knowing I was ready. Programmes like this create access, confidence and credibility for people who might otherwise be overlooked, while strengthening boards through a wider range of perspectives.”
The evaluation summary also highlights the role UK Boardroom Apprentice is playing in opening up board opportunities to people who previously thought it was out of reach. Across the three-year period, the programme attracted applicants from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, reinforcing its role in supporting broader participation in public life and strengthening the pipeline of future board talent across the UK.
Baljit Dhillon, UK Boardroom Apprentice alumna and Public Appointed Board Member for the Chilterns Conservation Board, said: “The programme played a valuable role in bridging aspiration and reality by providing exposure, credibility and insight. Securing a board role also required personal commitment, refining my narrative, building relationships and continuing to invest in my own development. Having already been actively applying for board roles, I was able to use the programme as a platform to accelerate this, resulting in securing a role within six months.”
Alongside strong gains in knowledge and understanding of governance, finance and legal responsibilities, the evaluation summary found that Boardroom Apprentices developed greater confidence to contribute at board level. Feedback gathered through the evaluation shows many participants finished the programme with a stronger sense of their own value, a clearer understanding of how boards operate and a greater belief that they were ready to take the next step.
The findings also underline the wider value of the programme for boards and organisations seeking fresh perspectives, broader representation and people who are better prepared to contribute meaningfully in governance settings. As a result, the evaluation summary positions UK Boardroom Apprentice as an important route for developing future board-ready talent across the public and third sectors.
The evaluation summary sets out a number of recommendations for future development, including continuing delivery of the programme to support board diversity and capability, exploring hybrid and consecutive learning formats to improve accessibility, strengthening alumni engagement and reviewing programme content to further support practical application.
The UK Boardroom Apprentice three-year evaluation summary is available to read at https://uk-boardroom-apprentice.webflow.io/.
