Apprenticeship End Point Assessment Cherie Heaven Director, EPAO

Overview of End Point Assessment

What is End Point Assessment? ‘The purpose of the end point assessment (EPA) is to test that an apprentice is fully capable of doing their job before they receive their apprenticeship certificate. It also helps to demonstrate that what an apprentice has learned can be applied in the real world.’ ..ESFA Gov Website

Framework V Standard Framework Standard Frameworks are primarily qualification-focused. The main aim at the end of a framework is to have achieved a competency-based qualification, such as an NVQ, and a technical qualification, such as a BTEC Standards are occupation-focused; they are not qualification-led. The learning happens throughout the apprenticeship. And the apprentice is assessed at the end. They need to prove that they can carry out all aspects of their job. They develop transferable skills and gain credibility too

When does EPA take place?

What does EPA look like?

(In broad terms) What does each method assess? KNOWLEDGE Professional Discussion Practical assessment Observation Interview Written Test or MCQ Project Learner Log Presentation or Showcase (Portfolio) SKILLS Practical assessment Observation Project Learner Log Presentation or Showcase BEHAVIOURS Professional Discussion Practical assessment Observation Interview Project Learner Log Presentation or Showcase (Portfolio)

EPA as a sector

What does the EPAO landscape look like? There are currently 236 registered EPAOs There are 454 approved standards up to L8 There are 25 between L7 and L8 There are 67 at L6 There are 362 up to L5 There are 80 standards with no EPAO There are 237 with 3 or less EPAOs approved

Top 5 represented standards

Top 10 EPAOs (by volume approval) Provider Name Number of standard EPA’s City and Guilds   NOCN Pearson Education Limited Highfield Awarding Body for Compliance (HABC) Training Qualifications UK DSW Consulting Innovate Awarding Limited Occupational Awards Limited BIIAB NCFE/CACHE 50 46 42 31 30 27 24 23 21

Governance & Quality Like on programme delivery is quality assured, so is EPA EPAOs are regulated by external quality assurance bodies (EQA) Currently 18 approved EQA bodies e.g. Ofqual (14%), IfATE (48%), NSAR (5.5%) New EPAO EQA framework was released this week!!!

JGA Journey so far and moving forward

So far .. Entry onto RoEPAO First standard approval (Live Event Rigger) Policies and processes Market research Customer insight Marketing & Branding Second standard approval (Employability Practitioner) Set short, medium and long term business strategies

Short term Look for niche standards with no EPAO e.g. Live Event Rigger, Papermaker Look for under represented standards with larger volumes e.g. data analyst Why? – to generate income to sustain and invest in long term strategy, as well as gain credibility, performance and experience

Medium term Deliver EPA for new standards (from inception) e.g. Employability Practitioner, Career Development Professional Review processes, performance, feedback and financials Why? – to test the additional services we can offer ITP’s, FE’s and employers. To review the costs to ensure that our offer provides value for money and quality, before moving onto long term strategy

Long term Move to a subscription based model for ITP’s, FE’s and employers, delivering an end to end support model Service our ‘customer’, not just the standard … be their EPA of choice for all EPA Why? – working smarter, not harder!! Sustainability in an ever changing market, being adaptable to our customers as an EPAO (…AO???)

Activity Time!!... What are (would be) your top 5 key decisions when selecting an EPAO? 5 mins to discuss then feedback  top 3

Synopsis … A lot of work is being undertaking to build a quality brand and service that can competitively compete and sustain, in the EPAO industry Please contact me if anyone would like to discuss/ contribute any ideas to this exciting opportunity Remember, you are all brand ambassadors, so please promote this service at any given opportunity Thank you all for your time and contributions

The End!