The Demand for End-Point Assessors in Health and Social Care
2020 has been a whirlwind year for the Health & Social Care sector in particular, but there has certainly been a rise in the number of apprentices completing End-Point Assessments. One of the End-Point Assessment Organisations (Prepare Achieve) have released some interesting figures regarding their success over the past few months.
Apprentices have been Hit Hard
During the pandemic, the apprenticeship sector as a whole has taken a big hit. Whilst there has been an increase in the transition to distance learning, 61% of companies have had to pause on-the-job training. This added expense of training has been too costly for many businesses who were having to furlough their staff.
One of the main ways in which End Point Assessment Organisations (Prepare Achieve in particular) have worked to support over 100 apprentices through their EPA in the past 3 months is through their online platform. Online learning is one of the best ways to improve your skills. It gives you the ability to learn at a time and a pace that suits you.
Institute for Apprenticeships Flexibilities
You may have noticed that due to COVID-19 there has been a slight change in how EPAs are carried out. The Institute for Apprenticeships introduced some ‘flexibilities’, allowing for observations and professional discussions to be carried out remotely.
These changes alone have allowed many businesses to continue with sending their apprentices through EPAs remotely. In particular, the adjustments meant that the Adult Care Worker Levels 2 and 3 were adapted to allow for 100% online assessment. With the assessments being carried out online, this means that they can fit easily around the busy schedules of the employees. Not only that, but the process is generally faster.
Working towards the EPA on Lockdown
As we are moving towards a potential second lockdown, it is a great time to start thinking about how your learners can complete their End Point Assessments. If your learner has already started to gather a portfolio of evidence, the next stage is usually a reflective statement. The reflective statement is normally covered via a professional discussion. Why not book this in via a Zoom call to keep your apprentice on track?
Whilst being locked indoors with a TV is great to begin with, it soon becomes very boring. Encourage your learners to make the most of this quiet opportunity and work towards their EPA. This could be the motivation they need to finish their professional discussion or written statement.
Extra Support
Here at Brooks and Kirk, we pride ourselves in providing round-the-clock support to all of our learners. If you are an Assessor, you will be aware of the government flexibilities that have been introduced to ensure people can still complete apprenticeships and EPAs. Pass this knowledge onto your learners. Remind them that they need to make the most of the remote assessments now while they are available.
Plus, this pandemic has clearly highlighted the importance of our NHS. We are bound to see a rise in the number of apprenticeships looking to complete their qualifications.
If you would like more information on our Assessor course please give us a call on 01205 805 155.
Steve is a Chartered Manager and a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.
He provides Educational Consultancy to the 19+ sector as well as being an Assessor, IQA, EPA and Digital Marketing Professional. When not doing any of these he finds time, every now and then, to write blogs and articles.
