Changes are afoot

Just when you think you have an effective and efficient end-point assessment (EPA) process in place for the NDT Engineering Technician apprenticeship programme, you get thrown an interesting curveball from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IFATE).

In line with the NDT Engineering Technician standard update, the assessment plan must also be updated to comply with updated IFATE requirements. Currently, it is a requirement that all apprentices must undertake a rigorous and robust independent assessment at the end of their training to confirm that they have achieved occupational competence. IFATE has undergone various reviews of the EPA process and would now like to include some form of practical demonstration within the EPA process and assessment plan to further strengthen the occupational competence requirement. The NDT Engineering Technician EPA covers the below items to ensure that the apprentices have achieved occupational competency at the end of their training period:

A thorough review of the portfolio of evidence, including the log book of experience, results, end-of-course tests and certificates
Project showcase presentation by the apprentice on the NDT project
A synoptic end-point interview with the apprentice.

As there is currently a requirement in the standard to provide evidence in the portfolio of successful training, examinations and supervised work experience in at least three NDT disciplines, this should more than support the requirement to provide evidence of occupational competence. Anyone that has ever undergone formal NDT training or examination would understand that this process portrays very well the ability of an inspector to prove their competency in a specific NDT technique.

The members of the BINDT Education & Professional Development (E&PD) Committee were all in agreement that the requirement for a practical demonstration at the EPA is not necessary, mainly down to the fact that it has already been covered through the process of certification. In addition, this could also cause major logistical issues for the EPA process, employers and apprentices. We all know that accessing restricted nuclear or Ministry of Defence (MOD) sites where NDT is conducted can be extremely troublesome; how could this be addressed if this is a permanent working location for an NDT apprentice?

Furthermore, customer jobs come and go depending on business requirements; how could the practical observations take place if there are no parts readily available for inspection? These are just a few examples of how the inclusion of a practical assessment at the EPA for the NDT Engineering Technician apprentice could prove extremely complicated and troublesome, and there are many more. These issues could obviously be addressed in some form but would certainly come with increased costs, as well as stretching the resources of employers, apprentices and end-point assessors.

The E&PD Committee, the current President of BINDT and a number of senior BINDT staff members have all expressed their feelings against this proposed change and are working with IFATE to ensure that the best interests of the apprentices and employers are always put first. I will hopefully be able to provide you with an update on this topic over the coming months.

Please note that the views expressed in this column are those of the author and do not represent the views of Skills Training UK or BINDT.

Sam Cunningham is with Skills Training UK and is a member of BINDT’s Education & Professional Development Committee, which oversees the development of the NDT apprenticeships.

Employers in England looking to recruit an apprentice can find up-to-date guidance at: www.gov.uk/recruit-apprentice

Details of the current apprenticeship vacancies in England are available at: www.gov.uk/apply-apprenticeship

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