Government apprenticeship criteria and End Point Assessment review

The Department for Education recently announced changes to apprenticeships. Here’s what employers should know.

The Department for Education (DfE) recently relaxed its requirements for adult learners doing apprenticeships, and will amend assessments too.

The changes

Functional skills

Previously, learners had to complete a Level 2 English and Maths qualification (equivalent to a GCSE) before they could pass their apprenticeship course.

Now businesses will be able to decide if those requirements are necessary for their apprentices over the age of 19.

Minimum duration

Some apprenticeships will be shortened, with certain course durations reducing from 12 months to eight. However, the details have yet to be confirmed.

Apprenticeship assessment

The assessment process will be streamlined by enabling more design and delivery flexibility. In some cases, this will include:

• assessment taking place on-programme
• training providers delivering elements of the assessment, though End-point Assessment Organisations (EPAOs) will continue to shape assessments and validate outcomes
• EPAOs focusing on essential knowledge and skills over separately assessing behaviours already reported by employers.

Training Provider payments

At the moment, providers must submit overlapping data via both the ILR and Apprenticeship Service account to receive funding for apprenticeship training. From August 2-25, the DfE will reduce data duplication.

What this means

Details of these changes are yet to be legislated. That means we’re not yet certain of exactly how apprenticeship recruitment and delivery will be affected. Preliminary details are available here.

We are committed to working closely with our partners and stakeholders to understand how changes will be implemented, and communicate and collaborate effectively.

Our reaction

AAT welcomes actions simplify and increase accessibility of apprenticeships, while maintaining the quality of opportunities and career outcomes for both employers and learners.

The recent announcement leaves a few unanswered questions, including how EPAOs, employers and training providers work together to ensure the best outcomes for apprentices. We look forward to working with the Department and Skills England to help achieve this. 

Cat Hall is AAT Content Editor, members and technical .