Apprenticeship assessment is changing: are providers and employers ready?

The way apprenticeships are assessed in England is changing.

The reforms are intended to create a more flexible, streamlined and proportionate assessment system while continuing to protect the quality and credibility of apprenticeships.

For training providers, employers and assessment organisations, however, greater flexibility will bring new responsibilities. Everyone involved will need to understand who can assess what, how evidence should be generated and how the validity and consistency of assessment decisions will be assured.

One of the most visible changes is the terminology being used.

Under the revised model:

• Apprenticeship assessment replaces end-point assessment.
• Assessment organisation replaces end-point assessment organisation.
• Gateway to completion replaces gateway.
• Assessment contributing to the apprentice’s final result may take place during the programme as well as towards its conclusion.

This represents an important shift. Under the original end-point assessment model, the assessment of occupational competence was concentrated at the end of the apprenticeship and delivered independently of the training provider.

The revised model allows assessment to take place at appropriate points throughout the apprenticeship where this is suitable for the occupation and the assessment method.

It is important to recognise that the reforms are being introduced gradually. Revised assessment plans will be published and implemented in phases during 2026 and 2027. Providers and employers must therefore check the version and implementation date applying to each apprenticeship standard rather than assuming that every apprenticeship has already moved to the new arrangements.

The government’s review found that apprenticeships continued to deliver positive outcomes, but feedback indicated that the existing end-point assessment process could be burdensome, time-consuming and disproportionate.

The reforms are intended to reduce unnecessary duplication and provide greater flexibility in the way competence is assessed.

This may include:

• Assessing knowledge, skills and behaviours at appropriate stages of the apprenticeship.
• Allowing providers to deliver and mark some assessment activities where the assessment plan permits it.
• Giving employers responsibility for verifying particular behaviours demonstrated in the workplace.
• Producing shorter and clearer assessment plans.
• Focusing assessment on the most important occupational outcomes.
• Retaining assessment organisations’ responsibility for assessment design and the validity of outcomes.

The objective is not to lower standards. It is to create an assessment process that is more closely related to the competence being tested and more manageable for apprentices, employers and providers.

The reforms create a significant change in the roles of the organisations involved.

Training providers may be permitted to deliver and mark certain assessment activities. This should only happen where it is specified within the relevant apprenticeship assessment plan.

Where providers become involved in assessment contributing to the final result, they will need systems that clearly distinguish assessment from training and developmental feedback.

They may also need to demonstrate:

• The occupational and assessment competence of assessors.
• Appropriate management of conflicts of interest.
• Consistent interpretation of the assessment requirements.
• Effective internal quality assurance.
• Standardisation between assessors.
• Secure assessment and evidence-management arrangements.
• Accurate recording and reporting of assessment decisions.

Provider involvement may make assessment more efficient, but it must not weaken confidence in the decisions being made.

Employers may be responsible for verifying behaviours that apprentices have demonstrated in the workplace.

This makes practical sense because workplace managers and supervisors are often best placed to observe behaviours over time. However, knowing an apprentice well does not automatically make someone a competent assessor.

Employers will need clear guidance covering:

• The behaviours to be verified.
• The standard of performance expected.
• The types of evidence that can be considered.
• How judgements should be documented.
• The difference between observing a behaviour and making an assumption about it.
• How concerns or insufficient evidence should be reported.
• The boundaries of the employer’s decision-making authority.

Workplace supervisors may therefore require training or briefing before taking on this responsibility.

Assessment organisations will continue to play a central role. They will design assessment materials and retain responsibility for assuring the validity of assessment outcomes.

This means establishing systems that provide confidence in assessment even when elements are delivered or marked by different organisations.

Their arrangements may need to include:

• Approval and monitoring of participating providers.
• Requirements for assessor competence.
• Standardisation and moderation.
• Risk-based quality assurance.
• Sampling of assessment decisions.
• Management of conflicts of interest.
• Secure assessment materials and records.
• Investigation of suspected malpractice or maladministration.
• Appropriate action when assessment requirements are not met.

Allowing different organisations to contribute to apprenticeship assessment increases the need for a coordinated and effective quality assurance strategy.

Quality assurance should not be limited to sampling assessment decisions. It must cover the complete apprenticeship journey—from recruitment and initial assessment through training, workplace development and assessment to final certification.

Clear responsibilities, competent staff and risk-based monitoring will be required at every stage. The quality assurance strategy must therefore be designed around the risks associated with the whole apprenticeship development and assessment process.

More flexible assessment should not lead to weaker evidence requirements.

Evidence contributing to an apprenticeship result must still demonstrate that the apprentice has achieved the required occupational competence. It should be:

• Valid: relevant to the knowledge, skill or behaviour being assessed.
• Authentic: produced by, or genuinely attributable to, the apprentice.
• Sufficient: broad and detailed enough to support the decision.
• Current: reflective of the apprentice’s present competence.
• Reliable: capable of supporting consistent assessment decisions.

Digital portfolios can help organise evidence and create a transparent connection between assessment requirements, submitted evidence, feedback and decisions.

However, collecting a large volume of evidence does not necessarily create a strong portfolio. The emphasis should remain on the quality and relevance of evidence rather than the number of documents uploaded.

Organisations involved in apprenticeships should begin by asking:

1. Which apprenticeship standards have moved to revised assessment arrangements?
2. What responsibilities are allocated to the provider, employer and assessment organisation?
3. Are those responsibilities clearly documented and understood?
4. Are assessors and workplace supervisors competent for the decisions they are expected to make?
5. How will conflicts between training and assessment roles be controlled?
6. How will employer verification of workplace behaviours be recorded?
7. What internal quality-assurance and standardisation arrangements are required?
8. How will the authenticity of evidence be confirmed?
9. Are digital assessment records secure, accessible and auditable?
10. How will identified problems be escalated and resolved?

The answers should be reflected in policies, procedures, role descriptions, training and quality-assurance plans.

The phased implementation provides time for organisations to prepare, but it also creates a period in which old and revised assessment arrangements may operate alongside one another.

Providers should monitor the versions and implementation dates of the apprenticeship standards they deliver. They should also avoid changing assessment arrangements until the revised assessment plan for the relevant standard formally applies.

Preparation may include:

• Completing a gap analysis against the revised assessment plan.
• Mapping responsibilities between the provider, employer and assessment organisation.
• Reviewing assessor and IQA competence.
• Updating policies and procedures.
• Developing guidance for employers and workplace supervisors.
• Reviewing assessment documentation and evidence requirements.
• Strengthening standardisation and quality-assurance arrangements.
• Testing digital evidence and reporting systems.
• Training everyone who will contribute to assessment decisions.

RI Training supports training providers, employers, professional bodies and assessment organisations with the development and quality assurance of competence-based assessment.

Our services include:

• Assessor and IQA training.
• Review and development of assessment strategies.
• Competency-framework development.
• Assessment and evidence design.
• Risk-based quality-assurance and sampling arrangements.
• Standardisation and assessor-development activities.
• Guidance for workplace supervisors and mentors.
• Assessment-system reviews and gap analyses.
• Remote App based evidence collection and management solutions.

The apprenticeship reforms create an opportunity to make assessment more relevant and manageable. Achieving this without compromising quality will depend on clear responsibilities, competent people and robust quality-assurance systems.

If your organisation is preparing for revised apprenticeship assessment arrangements, please contact RI Training to discuss how we can help.

Further information is available in the government guidance on changes to apprenticeship assessment.