Independent End-Point Assessment of Apprentices Helps to Verify the Effectiveness of Training

Published on 24 July 2020 at 13:04

Many industries and businesses take on apprentices whom they train to undertake work and responsibilities that suit their particular method of operations. On the completion of their supervised training, apprentices are recruited to fulfil their trained roles in the organisation. Apprentices must be tested for their technical knowledge and performance during training.  

This is especially important in the digital industry that is constantly setting up newer standards as technology has a great impact on this industry with its constant innovations and improvements. For ensuring the effectiveness of an apprenticeship programme, companies in the digital industry have set up standards for every aspect of the industry. To make apprenticeship more relevant and effective, government legislation has laid down that an end-point assessment is carried out by separate bodies and not by the employer or the training provider like The Education and Care Qualifications Network Ltd

 

This end-point assessment or EPA is considered one of the biggest reforms that have been made in apprenticeship and proved its usefulness to industry. It requires employers or trainers to decide on whether the apprentice has gathered sufficient knowledge and has developed the practical capabilities needed for the job, and is, therefore, ready to undergo an EPA by an external agency.

 

The objective of these assessments is to demonstrate that the apprentice will now be able to perform the jobs that the employer has had him trained for, in ways that are competent, holistic and productive. For these assessments, apprentices are required to have a portfolio made during their training period, that has evidence of work projects completed during training, which must cover all the standards laid down for that particular industry. In addition, they may be asked to complete a project related to the digital standards in his industry and do so in a time-bound manner. Employers require to give the apprentices a reference that indicates their training and aptitude displayed during training. Finally, independent assessors interview the candidate on both the portfolio and the project, and how the work has been carried out. 

 

Every element of the EPA is then assessed and successful candidates are awarded a pass, merit, or distinction. Every assessment organisation that is authorised to carry out such EPAs has to have a consistency of grading and assessment, and this is done through internal moderation and verification processes that it needs to have in place. In addition to that, it is also necessary to have an independent moderation that ensures that there is a consistency in both the assessment and grading that is carried out by the various assessment organisations. 

 

In an apprenticeship program, it is essential that the employer and the training organisation, even if it is internal, agree on how the training program will be conducted, and how the end-point assessment will be carried out. They also need to carry out joint reviews of progress at various intervals in the training to ensure that the training is being successfully imparted. 

 

A variety of assessment methods used in the final end-point assessment ensures that apprentices are judged on their performance, quality of work, skill application, knowledge and behaviour and are found ready to be employed by the organisation.


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