Employers will be able to check on the progress of their apprentices throughout their apprenticeship thanks to a new approach to testing introduced by the ECITB.
The government skills body for the engineering construction industry has developed a suite of phase tests to monitor and validate the progress of apprentices at set stages of their apprenticeship.
Under the new apprenticeship system in England, apprentices are typically only assessed at the end of their apprenticeship – known as End Point Assessment. ECITB’s new phase tests will enable employers to assess apprentices’ skills and knowledge at several predetermined stages during their apprenticeship.
At each stage both knowledge and practical skills are assessed independently at an ECITB-approved centre.
Chris Claydon, Chief Executive of the ECITB, said: “Employers have told us that they want to be able to monitor their apprentices’ progress and this new product does exactly that.
“By introducing phase testing to our apprenticeships, employers will be able to measure the progress of their apprentices and will know whether or not they are on-track to acquire the knowledge and skills required at the end point assessment.”
In partnership with Training Providers, Employers and industry Technical Authorities, the ECITB has developed 3 stages of Apprentice Phase Tests for electrical maintenance, mechanical maintenance, instrumentation and control, pipefitting and rigging and erecting. Aimed at apprentices learning against relevant engineering construction Apprenticeship Standards, these tests are also suitable for apprentices on frameworks and have been designed to reflect stages of development at the time of test delivery, through the Foundation Test (8-12 months), Work-Based Test (18 months) and Pre-Gateway Test (36 months).
Currently available to any employers, but at no cost to those in-scope to the ECITB, the phase tests are suitable for Apprentices on engineering biased standards and frameworks. For further information on apprenticeship phase testing please contact your ECITB account manager or email shashi.ardeshana@ecitb.org.uk or martin.eatough@ecitb.org.uk