The employer and training provider decide together when the employee is ready to be assessed. This will be at the end of the training programme and so the name, end point assessment.

This end point assessment is carried out by an independent assessment organisation registered with the Education and Skills Funding Agency as an End Point Assessment Organisation (EPAO).

The EPAO has to prove the occupational competence of their assessors, in the subjects that they want to assess, and provide evidence to support the ongoing currency of that competence.

The apprentice can fail as well as pass or gain a distinction in the new Trailblazer qualifications. It is the job of the EPAO to ensure that everything is carried out fairly, objectively and with transparency.

Employers have set out the standards, which they want to see apprentices achieving. They have also set out how they will be assessed and this information can be found in the assessment plans.

​

For some qualifications this is very prescriptive but for others the EPAO have been given the opportunity to devise their own methods of assessment.

We approach assessment of apprentices in a holistic way. What is important is that the candidate can do the job. To do this, we will meet with you for a complimentary pre-assessment discussion and learn about what makes your business work. Knowing what makes your organisation special means we can assess your people in that context.

​

To support the employers and training providers who choose to work with our company, we will provide test questions and sample documents for what distinction looks like. This should help you to work with the candidates to be the best that they can be.

​

Where possible the assessment will be carried out on the employers premises. We use a digital first approach and will discuss with you well in advance the tools we prefer to use.