Exploring the impact of proposed reforms to end-point assessment (EPA) of apprentices

The government’s reforms to apprenticeship assessment represent a significant shift in how occupational competence will be tested. They allow assessment to take place on-programme, permit training providers and employers to assess elements of apprenticeships, and substantially reduce the level of detail and standardisation in assessment plans.

A new Gatsby-commissioned report, End-point Assessment Reform by Alex Morris from Avencera concludes that, while the current system is not without flaws, end-point assessment (EPA) is fundamentally sound. After around a decade in operation, EPA is widely seen as delivering robust assessment of occupational competence and, crucially, as being recognised and valued by employers.

There are aspects of EPA that could be improved. Some assessment plans are overly detailed and drive unnecessary complexity, cost and duplication. In some cases, provider and employer behaviours could also operate more smoothly. However, the report argues that the current reforms amount to a heavy-handed overcorrection. They risk undermining core principles of EPA and will absorb significant capacity and resource across government, training providers, employers and assessment organisations during transition.

The report suggests that similar benefits could have been achieved more proportionately and with less risk by making targeted policy adjustments and revising individual assessment plans on a case-by-case basis, focusing on those standards where problems are most acute.

If the reforms proceed, the report identifies four conditions as critical to success. Government must hold firm to the principles of independence, consistency and synopticity; set realistic timescales and sequencing for revising assessment plans; communicate more clearly and consistently with the sector; and put in place a robust approach to evaluating the impact of the reforms.

Without these safeguards, the report warns that reforms intended to simplify apprenticeship assessment risk weakening confidence in a system that is already delivering what employers value most: credible assurance of occupational competence.

Download the report here.