Are you an apprentice with an End-Point Assessment (EPA) coming up soon? Don’t know your SJT from your PD? You may come across acronyms like these and other words and phrases you’re unfamiliar with.
That’s why we’ve put together this handy End-Point Assessment glossary, to help explain some of the language you might not have encountered before.
Still unsure about something? Our super friendly EPA team is on hand to help you.
EPA Glossary
Apprenticeship Standard
Apprenticeship standards show what you’ll be doing and the skills required of you to undertake a job role. FuturU is an End-Point Assessment Organisation (EPAO) for a range of levels two through 5 standards in health and social care, as well as the Level 3 Business Administration and Level 3 Team Leader or Supervisor standards.
Assessment
You’ll undertake a set of assessments with your End-Point Assessment Organisation (EPAO) to ensure you have acquired and are able to demonstrate the knowledge, skills and behaviours required of you.
Assessment plan
You’ll find all the knowledge, skills and behaviours that you’ll be assessed against during your End-Point Assessment in your assessment plan. You can search for your assessment plan on the IfATE website here.
Assessor
At FuturU, we have a fantastic team of independent and qualified assessors working across the country. It’s their job to complete your End-Point Assessment with you, ensuring you meet the standard required to achieve your qualification.
Certification
Once you’ve successfully completed your End-Point Assessment, your apprenticeship certificate will be issued.
Employer
Your employer is the company that you work for – they will support you as you work towards the completion of your apprenticeship.
EPA
This simply stands for End-Point Assessment, the final assessment you’ll need to take to achieve an apprenticeship. Your End-Point Assessment will be conducted with an independent organisation, like FuturU.
EPAO
EPAO stands for End-Point Assessment Organisation. Your EPAO is the independent organisation that you’ll complete your End-Point Assessment with, for example FuturU.
Gateway
You’ll meet with your training provider and employer to check that you have the knowledge, skills and behaviours outlined in your assessment plan and discuss and agree your readiness to progress to your End-Point Assessment. Evidence will then be submitted to the End-Point Assessment Organisation (EPAO) conducting your assessment. Once reviewed and signed off, your EPAO will invite you to book your assessment.
IfATE
The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Qualifications is responsible for the development, approval, review and revision of apprenticeships and technical qualifications.
Learner
The person undertaking an apprenticeship and completing their End-Point Assessment. That’s you!
MCQ
MCQ stands for Multiple Choice Questions. Depending on your apprenticeship standard, you may be asked to answer multiple choice questions as part of your assessment.
Observation of Practice
You may be asked to complete an observation of practice as part of your assessment. The goal of this exercise is to demonstrate your knowledge of your sector and the skills and behaviours required of you.
Off the job training
As part of your apprenticeship, you’ll be expected to complete training outside of the apprenticeship working hours – this training is known as off the job.
PD
PD stands for Professional Discussion. This is a two-way discussion between you and an assessor, in which you will have the opportunity to answer questions demonstrating your competency across the knowledge, skills and behaviours required of you.
Portfolio evidence
Your portfolio evidence is a collection of documents that demonstrate your competence against a set of learning outcomes.
QA
This acronym stands for Quality Assurance, the process which ensures that all assessments are completed to a high standard and are fair. At FuturU, we have a number of Internal Quality Assurers (IQAs) working to ensure our assessments are robust and fit for purpose.
Registration
As you near the end of your apprenticeship, your training provider will register you with an End-Point Assessment Organisation (EPAO) who will conduct your assessment.
Results
This simply means the outcome of your End-Point Assessment.
SJT
This stands for Situational Judgement Test, which forms a component of your End-Point Assessment. Your SJT will typically consist of a number of multiple choice questions based on real-life scenarios. The focus and duration of your SJT will depend on the apprenticeship standard you’re completing.
SLA
SLA stands for Service Level Agreement.
Training Provider
Your training provider is the organisation that provides the training element of your apprenticeship.