An ISE webinar unpacks what the changes to apprenticeship assessment mean in practice and what employers should be doing now.
The apprenticeship landscape is undergoing its most significant transformation since the introduction of the levy in 2017.
While the detail continues to evolve, a clear direction is emerging: a set of targeted reforms designed to make assessment more proportionate, more practical, and better aligned to employer need, without compromising confidence in occupational competence.
To help employers make sense of what’s changing, ISE’s Anne-Marie Campion brought together Carmel Grant of Skills England and Rob May of Innovate Awarding for a fast-paced webinar.
Role of Skills England
Skills England, established in June 2025, replaces the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. Responding more directly to the skills needs of the UK economy, it has three priorities:
Occupational standards remain the anchor, ensuring that changes to delivery and assessment continue to reflect real workplace competence.
Recent announcements illustrate this more responsive approach. The introduction of apprenticeship ‘units’ - shorter, targeted training derived from occupational standards. And the expansion of foundation apprenticeships into sectors such as retail and hospitality.
These developments sit alongside, rather than replace, the core apprenticeship model. Apprenticeship units, for example, are designed for specific reskilling needs where a full apprenticeship is not required, and will typically involve only light-touch assessment, if any, delivered through training providers rather than formal end-point assessment.
Skills England has also demonstrated its ability to respond quickly to employer demand. A new unit in battery manufacturing followed rapid consultation to support a major gigafactory project in Somerset, where employers identified that the existing 36-month apprenticeship was too broad for immediate needs.
Why reform assessment?
The changes have been driven by employer and provider feedback. The existing End Point Assessment (EPA) model has been seen as:
- Burdensome to deliver
- Difficult to schedule
- Duplicative in some cases
- Overly reliant on a single, high-stakes assessment at the end
The reforms aim to address these concerns by enabling more assessment during the programme and reducing unnecessary duplication, while still ensuring that all knowledge and skills are tested.
A more flexible assessment model
A key feature of the reforms is a revised approach to assessment plans. They will now include:
- A mandatory assessment method, which all apprentices must undertake to ensure national consistency
- Optional assessment methods, which assessment organisations can design and apply, allowing flexibility in how competence is assessed
This is not a two-stage assessment process in delivery, but rather a structure within the assessment plan itself to balance consistency with flexibility.
Another important change is the introduction of content sampling. While all knowledge and skills must be assessed, not every element needs to be tested in every assessment. Assessment organisations will determine what is necessary to confirm occupational competence.
Where apprenticeships include mandated qualifications, these may in some cases fully meet assessment requirements. In others, a shorter, more focused assessment will sit alongside the qualification.
Progress and implementation
Reforms began in November 2025, with learning taken from early pilots.
By March 2026:
- 44 assessment plans had completed stage one and progressed to assessment organisations
- Over 80 plans had been approved overall
Prioritisation has been aligned to the industrial strategy and critical skills needs.
The process has also shown a willingness to adapt. A construction pilot was paused after concerns were raised about occupational competence and health and safety. This provided a test case, ensuring that safety-critical requirements are fully embedded before wider rollout.
The Role of Assessment Organisations (AO)
AOs continue to play a central role: independently confirming that an apprentice has achieved occupational competence and ensuring consistency across the system. However, there are also new opportunities.
Assessment is expected to be more integrated across the learner journey, rather than concentrated solely at the end. This should reduce the ‘cliff edge’ associated with EPA and create a smoother experience for both employers and apprentices.
There is also greater scope for assessment organisations to work more closely with employers and training providers (TPs). While maintaining their independent role, AOs can engage more in the design and delivery of assessment approaches that better reflect workplace practice.
Blended and outsourced assessment
There are also changes to who delivers elements of assessment. There are three models:
- Fully outsourced assessment, where the AO delivers all assessment
- Blended assessment, where some elements are delivered by the TP, working closely with the AO
- Existing EPA model, which continues for current learners
TPs can only take on assessment responsibilities if they meet strict conditions, including:
- Having a suitably trained assessor workforce
- Demonstrating the ability to manage conflicts of interest
- Operating robust internal quality assurance processes aligned with AO standards
What replaces EPA?
While the term ‘EPA’ will be phased out, the function remains.
There will still be a final assessment stage, typically including workplace observation and AO-led verification. The difference is that assessment evidence will be built up throughout the programme.
The concept of ‘Gateway’ also evolves. Instead of a gateway to EPA, there will be a Gateway to Completion, where all elements (including employer verification of behaviours) have been achieved to allow for final certification.
Transition: Managing parallel systems
There will be no single switch to the new system. From September 2026, new learners will begin under reformed assessment plans, while existing apprentices continue under current arrangements. This creates three parallels:
- Existing EPA
- New model with full AO delivery
- New blended model with TP and AO
AOs will map standards carefully to ensure consistency and maintain quality.
A key principle underpinning this transition is that learners must not be disadvantaged. Reliability and validity of assessment remain the priority.
Key employer questions
During the webinar, several important themes emerged from employer questions.
Will flexibility reduce rigour?
Maintaining confidence in apprenticeship outcomes is central. Skills England emphasised the importance of employer collaboration in design and delivery, while assessment organisations retain responsibility for ensuring quality and consistency.
What about management and leadership apprenticeships?
It has already been announced that some standards will be defunded from August 2026. The standards will remain available for employers to fund privately or deliver through alternative qualifications.
Will apprenticeship units be assessed?
Not in the same way as full apprenticeships. Light touch assessment only through the TP if anything is needed beyond the qualification.
What is the employer role in behaviours?
Employers are not assessing behaviours but verifying that they have been demonstrated. How this will work in practice may vary, and further clarity is expected.
Looking ahead
These reforms are a significant and positive step forward and build on the existing system. The goal remains the same: apprenticeships that deliver trusted occupational competence. What’s changing is how that competence is evidenced - through a more integrated, flexible and employer-informed approach.
For employers, the message is simple: get across the options, ask the right questions of training providers and assessment organisations, and be ready to operate confidently in a system where multiple approaches will run in parallel.