This article is written by Robin Jackson, our Director of Assessment.
Given the complexities of apprenticeships, trying to determine what Open Awards should charge for end-point assessments (EPAs) can feel like a dark art. So, how have we approached this, at times divisive, subject?
Why we don’t just charge ‘the 20%’
It’s tempting to take the simple approach of charging the 20% of the maximum funding as our fee. There is a view this would remove ambiguity for employers and be consistent. After all, in relation to funding, isn’t that what the 20% of the funding paid on apprenticeship completion is intended to cover? This is a widely held misconception.
The completion funding was never intended to be ‘ring fenced’ for EPA costs. That’s not to say, it can’t be used for or contribute to these costs. However, EPA costs are generally ‘fixed’ by the EPAO. Whereas, the 20% final completion payment is a variable amount that is based on either the total negotiated price agreed between the provider and the employer or the funding band maximum, whichever is lower.
Let’s consider an overly simplified example. A provider has an apprentice on a standard where the maximum funding is £10,000 and the on-programme duration is typically 24 months. The expectation is that the EPA costs should not normally exceed 20% of the £10,000; i.e., £2,000. Therefore, the provider might deduct the £2,000 from the maximum funding, leaving a notional £8,000 to cover the on-programme training and all other associated costs. During the initial recruitment, the provider and employer agree the apprentice has existing knowledge and experience, so they only need to be on-programme for 18 months. The employer and provider might agree that because of this the cost for the apprenticeship will be reduced to ¾ of what the employer might ordinarily expect to pay the provider.
One approach is to agree ¾ of the £10,000; or £7,500 to cover everything. Based on this sum, the 20% completion contribution would be £1,500. However, in this example the EPAO is charging £1,600 for the specific apprenticeship standard. This EPA cost is fixed. Therefore, the provider should expect to pay the EPAO more than the actual completion payment they receive for that apprentice. There is a widely and wrongly held belief that the EPA can't be more than 20% of the overall cost negotiated by the employer and training provider.
An alternative way to model anticipated costs would be to deduct 20% from the maximum possible funding (i.e., 80% of £10,000 = £8,000) in case the EPA costs as much as this and then calculate ¾ of the on-programme element to reflect the apprentice does not need the full anticipated 24 months on-programme learning (i.e., ¾ of £8,000 = £6,000). The provider and employer then agree the cost as being £8,000 (i.e., £2,000 + £6,000). Ideally, the EPA costs deducted should broadly reflect the cost agreed with the selected EPAO’.
Whatever approach is used, it’s critical to be in line with the relevant DfE apprenticeship funding rules.
Why we have different fees for different standards
Because EPA is associated with accessing public funding, EPAOs are only allowed to charge for what are deemed eligible costs by the Department for Education. Compliance with the requirement to only charge eligible costs was one of the conditions of acceptance (Condition 15) for being on the apprenticeship provider and assessment register (APAR). Whilst EPAOs were removed from the APAR at the end of 2024 to “remove dual regulation”, the identified eligible costs are still the best place to start when determining EPA prices.
As apprenticeship standards have different combinations of level, assessment methods, assessor qualification requirements, our fees reflect the specific complexities of individual standards. We put considerable effort into calculating our anticipated costs to come up with a fee that is reasonable and fair.
Why we charge a small registration fee and invoice the rest following gateway checks
For consistency and transparency, we have adopted this single approach for all the EPAs we offer. Otherwise, we are likely to have a fee schedule which is overly complex for providers to plan for. We incur administrative costs in setting up apprentices on our systems and for some standards we need to allocate an assessor early in the process as they may be required to input into gateway checks or employer planning meetings/ site visits.
Why we publish our EPA prices on our website
We take pride in being open and honest in our approach to everything we do. It’s about trying to do the right thing. We believe our prices should be visible to anyone: current customers, interested future customers and even competitors.
Even if we didn’t have this within our DNA, it is a requirement for Ofqual as the qualification regulator/ an EPA external quality assurer. Condition F1.2 requires us to make our fee information easily accessible to any potential purchaser without that person having to request it from, or provide any information to, us. In simple terms all EPAOs must make their prices publicly accessible. Therefore, not only are we living our values, but we are also confident in being compliant with our regulatory requirements.
Why resit costs appear lower than the overall EPA price
We calculate our resit prices based purely on what we need to pay assessors (including for their planning and travel), and administration fees in managing the assessment. This can appear to be lower than the overall EPA price.
The reason for this is our overall EPA price includes all eligible costs associated with delivering EPA for that apprentice. This includes, for example: a proportion of costs associated with developing the EPA and associated assessment instruments; guidance and support and the materials (non-capital items) used in the delivery of EPA (equipment or supplies necessary to enable the assessment to take place); ensuring trained staff and appropriate premises are available to deliver EPA; and quality assurance activities.
We calculate our overall EPA prices on the assumption that apprentices should not require resits. This ensures we are able to offer the highest quality assessment within our core costs and keeps our resit/ retake prices simple (they cover our and our assessor’s time in delivering Providers should ensure their agreement with the employer is clear on who is responsible for any resit cost.
Why we don’t caveat our prices with offers
It could be argued that EPA and the expectation that employers should agree costs with EPAOs has led to even greater commercialisation of the qualification market and associated application of sales ‘spin’. We believe we have calculated our fees fairly and robustly, based on what are eligible costs. However,
By robustly setting clear fees we believe they are already fair and offer value for money.