Overview
A undertaking entails the apprentice finishing a major and outlined piece of labor that has an actual enterprise software and profit. The undertaking should meet the wants of the employer’s enterprise and be related to the apprentice’s occupation and apprenticeship.
This evaluation methodology has 2 parts:
Collectively, these parts give the apprentice the chance to show the KSBs mapped to this evaluation methodology. They’re assessed by an unbiased assessor.
Rationale
This EPA methodology is getting used for the next causes:
- as a result of it replicates the project-based strategy adopted within the office
- this methodology can proof a broad vary of data and abilities
- the occupation requires people to provide and current undertaking work on a frequent foundation.
Supply
The apprentice should full a undertaking primarily based on any of the next:
the applying of a Human Centered Design (HCD) course of to incorporate the event, analysis, or enchancment of a product, system or organisation. The appliance of the HCD course of might happen at any level within the lifecycle from growing design ideas by way of to evaluating in-service tools, techniques or processes. For instance, the undertaking could possibly be primarily based upon:
- design, growth and evaluation of a prototype Consumer Interface for a ship command and management system or medical machine
- analysis of an extant energy plant or rail management room and growth and evaluation of suggestions for tools, organisational and course of enhancements
- analysis and iteration of a automobile design utilizing Pc Aided Design instruments and/or bodily prototypes to make sure bodily lodging of the meant consumer group.
Consistent with a HCD course of the undertaking needs to be underpinned by applicable Human Elements ideas, evaluation and methodologies to:
- establish and perceive the context of use together with the meant customers, duties and environments.
- establish consumer wants and specify consumer necessities for the product, system or organisation
- develop design options or suggestions for design enchancment
- conduct human centred analysis of design options with quantitative and qualitative strategies
- have interaction with customers to tell every stage of the HCD course of.
To make sure the undertaking permits the apprentice to satisfy the KSBs mapped to this evaluation methodology to the best obtainable grade, the EPAO ought to sign-off the undertaking’s title and scope on the gateway to substantiate it’s appropriate. The EPAO should check with the grading descriptors to make sure that initiatives are pitched appropriately.
The undertaking output have to be within the type of a report and presentation.
The apprentice should begin the undertaking after the gateway. The employer ought to make sure the apprentice has the time and assets, inside the undertaking interval, to plan and full their undertaking.
The apprentice may fit as a part of a crew to finish the undertaking, which might embrace inner colleagues or technical specialists. The apprentice should nonetheless, full their undertaking report and presentation unaided and so they have to be reflective of their very own position and contribution. The apprentice and their employer should verify this when the report and any presentation supplies are submitted.
Element 1: Challenge report
The report should embrace at the very least:
- the undertaking goals and goals
- the undertaking plan
- an outline of the processes and strategies utilized
- an outline of the outputs of every undertaking part together with rationale and outcomes of any evaluation, design or analysis actions carried out
- a conclusion and dialogue of undertaking outcomes and suggestions.
The undertaking report should have a phrase rely of 10000 phrases. A tolerance of 10% above or beneath is allowed on the apprentice’s discretion. Appendices, references and diagrams usually are not included on this whole. The apprentice should produce and embrace a mapping in an appendix, displaying how the report evidences the KSBs mapped to this evaluation methodology.
The apprentice should full and submit the report and any presentation supplies to the EPAO by the top of week 20 of the EPA interval.
Element 2: Presentation with questions
The presentation with questions have to be structured to provide the apprentice the chance to show the KSBs mapped to this evaluation methodology to the best obtainable grade.
The apprentice should put together and ship a presentation to an unbiased assessor. After the presentation, the unbiased assessor should ask the apprentice questions on their undertaking, report and presentation.
The presentation ought to cowl:
- an outline of the undertaking
- the undertaking scope (together with key efficiency indicators)
- abstract of actions undertaken by the apprentice
- undertaking outcomes and the way these have been achieved
The presentation with questions should final 60 minutes. It will sometimes embrace a presentation of 25 minutes and questioning lasting 35 minutes. The unbiased assessor should use the complete time obtainable for questioning. The unbiased assessor can enhance the time of the presentation and questioning by as much as 10%. This time is to permit the apprentice to finish their final level or reply to a query if crucial.
The unbiased assessor should ask at the very least 5 questions. They need to use the questions from the EPAO’s query financial institution or create their very own questions in keeping with the EPAO’s coaching. Observe up questions are allowed the place clarification is required.
The aim of the unbiased assessor’s questions is:
- to confirm that the exercise was accomplished by the apprentice
- to hunt clarification the place required
- to evaluate these KSBs that the apprentice didn’t have the chance to show with the report, though these needs to be stored to a minimal
- to evaluate degree of competence towards the grading descriptors
20 of the EPA interval. The apprentice should notify the EPAO, at that time, of any technical necessities for the presentation.
Throughout the presentation, the apprentice should have entry to:
- audio-visual presentation tools
- flip chart and writing and drawing supplies
- laptop.
The unbiased assessor should have at the very least 2 weeks to assessment the undertaking report and any presentation supplies, to permit them to organize questions.
The apprentice have to be given at the very least 2 days’ discover of the presentation with questions.
Evaluation choice
The unbiased assessor should make the grading choice. They need to assess the undertaking parts holistically when deciding the grade.
The unbiased assessor should preserve correct data of the evaluation. They need to report:
- the KSBs demonstrated within the report and presentation with questions
- the apprentice’s solutions to questions
- the grade achieved
Evaluation location
The presentation with questions should happen in an appropriate venue chosen by the EPAO for instance, the EPAO’s or employer’s premises. It ought to happen in a quiet room, free from distractions and affect.
The presentation with questions may be carried out by video conferencing. The EPAO should have processes in place to confirm the identification of the apprentice and make sure the apprentice isn’t being aided.
Query and useful resource growth
The EPAO should develop a purpose-built evaluation specification and query financial institution. It is suggested that is performed in session with employers of this occupation. The EPAO ought to keep the safety and confidentiality of EPA supplies when consulting with employers. The evaluation specification and query financial institution have to be reviewed at the very least annually to make sure they continue to be fit-for-purpose.
The evaluation specification have to be related to the occupation and show how you can assess the KSBs mapped to this evaluation methodology. The EPAO should be sure that questions are refined and developed to a excessive commonplace. The questions have to be unpredictable. A query financial institution of adequate measurement will help this.
The EPAO should be sure that the apprentice has a special set of questions within the case of re-sits or re-takes.
EPAO should produce the next supplies to help the undertaking:
- unbiased assessor EPA supplies which embrace:
- coaching supplies
- administration supplies
- moderation and standardisation supplies
- steerage supplies
- grading steerage
- query financial institution
- EPA steerage for the apprentice and the employer
The EPAO should be sure that the EPA supplies are topic to high quality assurance procedures together with standardisation and moderation.
