How to Find a Job as an IEPA
The role of an Independent End-Point Assessor (IEPA) is to ensure that an apprentice has met the apprenticeship standard. It is also their responsibility to confirm the apprentice is occupationally competent within their role. An IEPA differs from an On-Programme Assessor as they are completely separate from the training provider, employer and apprentice. They have no contact with them before the assessment and are therefore unbiased.
All apprentices have to go through the End Point Assessment (EPA) with an independent Assessor. Think about the hundreds of thousands of apprentices currently going through the process – there is always going to be a very high demand for Independent End-Point Assessors. If you are interested in becoming an IEPA how do you find possible jobs? Read on to find out more.
A Quick Google Search
This may sound like an obvious place to start, but most IEPA jobs are advertised online and are quite easy to find on search engines. You will come across lots of third-party recruitment websites such as Indeed and Reed which will have a list of jobs within the industry. One thing you’ll need to check is the date listed on the advertised vacancy. Some companies forget to take down old job advertisements, and you don’t want to waste precious time applying for a role that no longer exists!
It is always worth checking who the employer is on these job sites too, as there may be more information about the role provided on their website. It also means you can get an idea of who the organisation are, which will help with your interview preparation.
EPAOs
End Point Assessment Organisations (EPAOs) are organisations that are registered and approved by the Government to carry out Independent End-Point Assessments with apprentices. EPAOs can include awarding bodies, training providers and professional bodies. They must be listed on the register to show they can take part in the End-Point Assessment of an apprentice.
End-Point Assessment Organisations are responsible for ensuring all apprentices receive the same standards in their EPAs. End-Point Assessors are responsible for the following (to name a few):
- Designing and developing End-Point Assessments
- Carrying out End-Point Assessments
- Quality assuring the delivery of the End-Point Assessment
- Ensuring the End-Point Assessment is independent
- Recording when an apprentice has passed the End-Point Assessment
Going back to recruitment, EPAOs who employ the independent Assessors tend to advertise their job vacancies on their own websites. If you are struggling to find EPAOs near you, simply go onto the Gov website where they list the register of End-Point Assessment Organisations.
There are often lots of EPA jobs advertised on LinkedIn, either within specific group pages or on company profiles. Any time you are looking for a new role it is important to make sure your LinkedIn profile and experience is all up to date. You never know who might take a look, particularly if you are actively applying for roles. Once you have searched for ‘EPA vacancies’ on LinkedIn you can save this search and add a notification so that each time a new role comes up you will receive an email.
Overall, the easiest way to find new vacancies is by using the list of approved EPAOs. Once you are on this website you can easily filter by the standards that they provide. Using this EPAO list is also really useful if you work in a specialist sector as you can easily see if anyone is currently offering End-Point Assessments for this standard. You can then approach the EPAO directly to see if they have any vacancies.
End-Point Assessment Courses
Of course, there aren’t currently any courses that alone make you a qualified End-Point Assessor. However, there are CPD courses you can take. In fact, in January 2021 we started delivering our very own EPA Award; the Award in End-Point Assessment Principles and Practice. This course has been designed to give you all the knowledge and skills behind being an End-Point Assessor (and it only takes roughly 6 hours to complete!).
If you would like to learn more about how to become an Independent End-Point Assessor, please contact the team at Brooks and Kirk on 01205 805 155 or email training@brooksandkirk.co.uk.