Revealed: The 68 apprenticeship standards to be overseen by Ofqual from November

The 68 apprenticeship standards which will have the quality assurance of end-point assessments transferred from the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education to Ofqual in November have been revealed.

The standards (see the full list below) all currently use the institute (IfATE) for external quality assurance (EQA), but these duties will be transferred over to the exams watchdog on Thursday 12 November.

This is the first stage in the mass transfer of EQA which was announced earlier this year, with Ofqual taking over EQA duties for all non-degree apprenticeships and the Office for Students (OfS) taking over for integrated degree apprenticeships.

FE Week was the first to report, in September, this process would begin with around 70 standards in November, with a further 54 from January 2021 and the remaining standards by next summer.

IfATE’s deputy director for apprenticeship quality and assessment Nikki Christie called this “the first key stage in transitioning to what will be a stronger and simpler system for EQA”.

Up until this change, Ofqual has split EQA duties with the IfATE and around 20 other employer bodies.

The diversity of bodies has meant end-point assessment organisations have paid wildly varying amounts for EQA, up to £179 per apprentice in some cases.

IfATE, which runs EQA through contractor Open Awards, itself charges a £40 fee per apprentice for EQA, however this will come to an end once Ofqual takes over.

The institute will retain oversight of the framework for EQA which Ofqual and the OfS will operate in.

A new directory of professional and employer-led organisations for Ofqual and the OfS to draw on will be set up IfATE, which the apprenticeship quango says “will keep employers at the heart of protecting quality in apprenticeships”.

The full list of standards having EQA transferred to Ofqual from November: