Ofqual's Executive Director for Vocational and Technical Qualifications discusses protecting the interests of apprentices and driving quality in assessment.
Good morning, everyone. It’s good to be back here after speaking to you last March.
So, Ofqual – we are the statutory regulator of qualifications and assessments, if you didn’t know, which now includes over 1,700 apprenticeship end-point assessments (EPA) offered by 153 different awarding organisations against 577 apprenticeship standards. Our job is to ensure that apprentices are assessed fairly, in a way that produces results that employers can rely on. We are here to protect the interests of apprentices and students of all ages as they take their assessments – we put their needs first in everything we do.
The market for apprenticeship end-point assessment continues to change and develop. Last year I updated you on the EQA transition programme initiated by IfATE. Through that programme Ofqual has now officially recognised over 80 end-point assessment organisations as regulated awarding organisations. Some newly-recognised awarding organisations are entering new markets, some are changing their minds and leaving. We are seeing a lot of applications to change or expand awarding organisations’ scope of recognition at present. Each of these requires an important check that the awarding organisation has the capacity and capability to deliver what it is applying for.
