Many apprenticeship standards involve a project as part of the end point assessment (EPA).
Here’s our Training Provider Guide on how to prepare your apprentices for their EPA project.
TIPS FOR PLANNING THE EPA PROJECT
- The key to success is in the planning. Start early and work with your apprentice to find a project that will cover the competencies outlined in the standard’s assessment plan. If you need to create a new opportunity, then do so. Bear in mind the apprentice’s role and employer’s industry when planning the project – these should allow scope to cover all criteria. Many standards state the project should not be started until after gateway, in which case planning to do a project is acceptable, but actual work on the project should be done after gateway.
- Get line manager buy-in. Include the line manager in discussions and decisions and ensure they are happy for the apprentice to carry out the chosen project, and that the apprentice will have the scope needed to meet all assessment criteria. It may be necessary to set parameters, such as manager approval of all ideas before they are actioned.
- The project should be a live project, for most standards. This means it should be based on a real business need and should have objectives that will create tangible improvements for the employer organisation. For more details, refer to the support materials.
TIPS FOR WRITING THE EPA PROJECT
- Make sure your apprentice demonstrates the assessment criteria mapped to the assessment method. Apprentices often struggle with skills and behaviours when they focus on what they will do (or what their team did), rather than what they did do.
- The Assessor needs to see what skills and behaviours the apprentice demonstrated. They should try to write in first person, using “I” rather than “we” to show their competencies.
- Apprentices should refer to the assessment criteria listed in the Assessment Plan as a guide in their written report. They may wish to reflect phrases used in the assessment plan to describe what they have done. For example, if the criteria says “Demonstrates their ability…”, they could mirror this and say “I demonstrated my ability to… by…”
- Remind apprentices that the assessor doesn’t know them or their organisation. They don’t see their abilities and interactions and can only grade on the assessment evidence submitted. It’s essential that apprentices recognise their abilities and clearly state how they have met the assessment criteria. If they don’t include it, the assessor can’t grade it.
- Structure is important and helps apprentices follow a logical order. Most of our standards have a Project Report Template apprentices can use, with a defined structure.
- Apprentices should ALWAYS adhere to the word limit. Check the Resource Pack or Toolkit to see if appendices and charts are included in the word count. A 10% variation is usually allowed but if apprentices go over this, any extra words will not be marked. Any submission below the minimum word count may be graded a fail.
- When the apprentice has finished their project write up, they may find it useful to go back through it and highlight where they have demonstrated each of the assessment criteria. This is a great self-check method to see if all criteria have been covered and if they are clear.
Your apprentices may also be interested in our Apprentice Guide: How to Prepare for EPA and our blog 6 Ways to Demonstrate Skills and Behaviours in End Point Assessment.
