EPAOs removed from APAR

The government has removed end-point assessment organisations (EPAOs) from the apprenticeship provider and assessment register (APAR) to “remove dual regulation”.

EPAOs and training providers were merged into a single register in August 2023.

For the past year, when an assessment organisation received recognition for a standard from Ofqual or the Office for Students – their external quality assurance (EQA) provider – they have automatically been placed onto APAR as an approved EPAO. 

However, the associated conditions of acceptance for APAR differed from the terms EPAOs have to pass for external quality assurance, which caused unnecessary regulatory burden.

The DfE told FE Week it made the “operational change” to remove EPAOs from APAR today to address this.

“This change is merely an operational one to remove dual regulation, whereby EPAOs have to be approved by the relevant external quality assurance provider (e.g. Ofqual) for a given standard, so we don’t need to maintain in DfE a separate register or approval process for EPAOs,” the department said.

“This therefore further simplifies the apprenticeship system for users.”

DfE added that the change will not affect the delivery arrangements for EPA.

To deliver apprenticeships, EPAOs continue to require approval in the usual way from the organisation providing the EQA for the relevant standard, and providers and employers can continue to use the ‘find an apprenticeship’ service to help them select an EPAO.

Simon Ashworth, Association of Employment and Learning Providers deputy CEO and director of policy, said: “The removal of end point assessment organisations from the apprenticeship provider and assessment register is a logical step forward, given EPAOs already need to be approved elsewhere with a higher threshold.”

Rob Nitsch, chief executive of the Federation of Awarding Bodies, added: “Regulatory burden is a key issue for our members and addressing it is a leading priority for the federation. We absolutely welcome the focus on reducing it and this step.”