You may have heard about the new job roles as apprentices move to standard apprenticeships and seen the job advertisements of the independent assessors who carry out End Point Assessments (EPAs) and wondered if this a job you could do?
It is a common question we get and there is not an easy answer! Every standard was written by a group of employers from the sector who decided what knowledge, skills, and behaviours the apprentice should have at the end of the apprenticeship. They then decided how the standard should be assessed and who would be eligible to carry out the EPA. This means that there is a great variety of requirements across the standards and the only way to be sure you meet the minimum requirements is to check the assessment plan attached to every standard which gives you the information.
The good news its easily to locate the assessment plan, they are readily available on the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education. Once you visit the site you can search the different sectors and standards you think you may be able to assess. It’s really worth doing this as you may be astonished at how many there are in your sector that you may not have been aware of. There are literally hundreds of apprenticeship standards, from Abattoir workers to Engineers, Firefighters, Carpenters, Youth workers… and they all need occupationally competent Independent Assessors.
Once you find a standard, you can see attachments in the right-hand side of the screen, and one of the attachments will be the assessment plan. Be prepared read through this document but in here you will find a huge amount of information and the minimum requirements for the Independent Assessor job role.
Generally, the main requirement will be current occupational competence in the role. A relevant qualification and experience may require, and this can be extremely specific. Remember, the employers wrote this standard, so they want to be sure the assessors making the judgements are experts in the sector. Sometimes an assessor qualification or experience in assessment can also be required. This can be vague sometimes; some standards will list the assessor qualifications they will accept, and others are even less clear saying an assessor qualification or experience. However, this is not a requirement in every standard.
On a final note the assessment plans are the minimum requirements. Each End Point Assessment Organisation who employs the assessors can add their own requirements to the job person specification. The EPAO will also want to see that you have up to date CPD in the sector so make sure that you have this ready and you are confident that you can evidence your suitability for the role.
We wish you every success in your search to become an Independent EPA Assessor and take the next step in this rewarding career.
If you would like to learn more about becoming an Independent Assessor, please contact Best for Training on 01702 770030 or email contact@bestfortraining.co.uk
If you would like to gain the Highfield Level 3 Award in Undertaking End Point Assessment, book online or contact Best for Training for further details.
