Healthcare

Gone are the days of pen and paper, numerous emails and confusing filing systems. The final stage of the apprenticeship journey is now even more accessible for employers, training providers and apprentices.

Prepare to Achieve are taking advantage of new digital technologies to continue to provide a fuss-free service for the delivery of End-Point Assessment (EPA). The bespoke EPA platform has been specially designed for EPA to guide apprentices, employers and training providers through the entire EPA process.

Investing in the platform allows the necessary Gateway requirements to be documented in one place for easy access, in addition to assessment progress charts which allow employers, apprentices and training providers to stay on top of data.

Prepare to Achieve have been pleased to receive positive feedback from our partners about the use of technology, especially the generation of reports to track the progress of apprentices.

Lee Evans, CEO at Prepare to Achieve, said:

“The past few months have proven to us how important it is for employers, providers and apprentices to have easy access to resources and information online. The EPA platform has the features that assist us in providing the best service, and in turn, helping apprentices to complete their apprenticeship journey.”

Since the COVID-19 pandemic begun, Prepare to Achieve have used their technology-led approach to EPA to support 39 employers and over 150 apprentices in the adult care sector through EPA.

After an unprecedented few months for the apprenticeship training sector, Prepare to Achieve have taken some time to reflect on what has been a successful few months for the specialist End-Point Assessment Organisation.

Between March-May, Prepare to Achieve have worked with 39 different health and social care employers, supporting over 100 of their apprentices through the End-Point Assessment (EPA) element of their apprenticeship standard. A number of factors have led them to achieving this success, including the development of their online EPA Platform, which provides a flexible and simple approach to the final stage of the apprenticeship programme.

As with many industries, the apprenticeship sector as a whole has taken a hit during the pandemic. Leading education charity, The Sutton Trust, reported that out of 156 employers surveyed, 61% were forced to suspend on-the-job learning, furlough recruits or make them redundant during lockdown. However, Prepare to Achieve’s speediness to embrace the changes and adjustments set out by the Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA) ensured that their support of employers, apprentices and training providers was not compromised. These adjustments saw the Adult Care Worker Level 2 and Lead Adult Care Worker Level 3 being adapted to allow for 100% online assessment.

This new way of assessing apprentices has benefited many businesses during the pandemic with providers able to support apprentices remotely to prepare for EPA.

An employer who recently chose Prepare to Achieve as their End-Point Assessment Organisation said:

“The process was so much easier from start to finish. We were able to work the assessments around our employees’ busy schedules, which worked better for us. Booking the assessments was all done online and was quick and easy, too.

“Our apprentice also said she felt more comfortable taking the assessment in a familiar setting, rather than having an Assessor physically in the same room as her. It was the first time we’d completed the whole EPA process online, and we’ll definitely continue to do it this way moving forwards.”

Lee Evans, CEO at Prepare to Achieve said,

“It’s been great that we’ve had such a good response to the online delivery of our EPA services. Over the past 3 months, we’ve had over 200 assessments completed online and we’ve had really positive feedback from both employers and apprentices about their experiences.”

Prepare to Achieve offer online EPA services for the Adult Care Worker Level 2 and Lead Adult Care Worker Level 3 apprenticeship standards. They hope to continue with this remote way of assessment moving forwards, to fully support employers through the End-Point Assessment journey.