The further education and skills sector is facing one of the most significant shifts in its recent history.
The move from end-point assessment towards a new, principles-driven apprenticeship assessment model is more than a technical tweak, it is a fundamental change to how we think about quality, assurance and trust.
In a recent speech at Davos, Mark Carney, Canada’s prime minister, reminded global leaders that “nostalgia is not a strategy”.
That phrase has stayed with me because it resonates so strongly with where our sector now stands.
It is understandable to look back at what felt familiar and certain, but the reality is the old model is not coming back.
The question is not whether change will happen, but how we will choose to respond to it.
This new assessment landscape brings big challenges. It asks training providers and awarding organisations to rethink delivery models, build new capability and have confidence in different approaches to assessment and marking.
And, at the heart of this reform sits a non-negotiable responsibility, protecting the integrity of occupational competence.
In the STEM and digital sectors SIAS supports, the industry voice has been clear and consistent that reform cannot come at the expense of rigour.
Employers rely on apprenticeship standards as a mark of readiness and they need confidence. Trust is hard won but easily lost.
But acknowledging the challenges should not make us cautious about change. It should sharpen our focus on getting this right!
Within that responsibility sit significant opportunities to design assessments that are better aligned to learning, more responsive to employers, and more embedded within programmes rather than bolted on at the end.
We need to shift from a defensive posture
To make this work, mindset matters. We need to shift from a defensive posture to a constructive one; from seeing change as something being done to us, to recognising it as something we can actively shape.
We must all lean into this moment, and I know the awarding sector is driven by a simple principle: putting providers, learners and employers at the heart of our approach.
Greater provider involvement in assessment can strengthen relevance and responsiveness, and it can co-exist within a system that protects quality and standards.
Awarding organisations that design dual assessment strategies flexible enough to support greater provider ownership, while still offering awarding organisation-led delivery where needed, are enabling genuine choice.
They recognise a simple reality: providers are starting from different places. Some are ready to take on more control, while others face structural, regulatory or capability constraints as they navigate transition. A one-size-fits-all approach will not work.
I believe our role as awarding organisations, therefore, is not to dictate the model but to create a framework that allows for collaboration, progression and confidence over time.
If we approach this transition with discipline as well as ambition, then we have the opportunity to build a model that combines flexibility with credibility, that supports innovation while safeguarding standards. An approach that earns the continued trust of employers, regulators and, most importantly, learners.
Leadership at this moment is about stepping forward with clarity, positivity and purpose.
We need to let go of legacy positions. Nostalgia is not a strategy. What is required now is deliberate evolution, grounded in standards but responsive to the future.
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