Employer’s responsibilities, arrangements for the end-point assessment and future developments…

Arrangements for the end-point assessment
What should happen is not happening at the moment. As soon as the employer chooses an end-point assessment organisation from the Institute for Apprenticeships (IfA) database, they must inform that assessment organisation and provide information about the apprenticeship. Currently, it is easy to monitor the progress of this requirement because BINDT is the only registered assessment organisation for NDT apprenticeships, but employers and apprentices need to be more proactive. If you have chosen BINDT as your end-point assessor but have not yet informed us, please contact John Moody (john.moody@bindt.org).

Employer’s responsibilities
In summary, the employer’s responsibilities are to: decide which and how many apprenticeships to embark on; choose a lead provider (an organisation authorised by the IfA, which has an allocation of funds to be used for apprenticeships); recruit apprentices or choose members of staff to upskill; develop an apprenticeship plan, demonstrating how and when the apprentices are going to meet the requirements of the apprenticeship standard; monitor the progress of the apprenticeship; carry out regular apprentice appraisals; and inform the end-point assessment organisation when the apprentice is ready to undergo the end-point assessment. It is this last point that I want to emphasise. The employer needs to inform the end-point assessment organisation (by letter) that the apprentice has completed the apprenticeship and is ready for the end-point assessment.At the time of notifying the end-point assessment organisation, the employer needs to include the complete portfolio of evidence.

Support from the professional body
How can the professional body for NDT (BINDT) support the employers throughout the apprenticeship and with the end-point assessment? BINDT is always on hand to offer advice and support, simply email John Moody. In addition to the professional support, the Education and Professional Development (E&PD) Committee has created multiple guidance documents, templates, forms and pro forma letters. These can be found on the BINDT website (www.bindt.org/education-and-training/apprenticeships/apprenticeship-document-download/). Documents of particular interest are the NDT Operator or NDT Engineering Technician ‘UK-SPEC Competency Matching’ form, ‘Guidance on the Preparation of the Portfolio of Evidence’, ‘Guidance for the End-Point Assessment/PRI’ and the ‘Employer’s Letter Pro Forma’. Most of these documents are already on the BINDT website; others will be on there shortly. Employers should read these documents so that they comply with the requirements at the first  submission.

Future developments
The mandatory review of the Engineering Technician Apprenticeship is quickly approaching and is due in December 2018. As a consequence, the E&PD Committee is creating a wish list of changes. The following are already on the list: to somehow include the professional body in the apprenticeship start-up process; to simplify the scoring system; to have only one level of pass; to recognise NDT training and certification achieved during the apprenticeship; and to recognise EngTech registration (with a Professional Review Interview) as meeting the requirements of the end-point  assessment.
A further development is the validation event at the University of Northampton for the MSc in Advanced Professional Practice (NDT), which will take place on 30 October  2018.

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