EPA Costs and Resit Costs

From the Apprenticeship gateway and resits for end-point assessments guidance;

Who is responsible for resit costs?

The employer has responsibility for the majority of their apprentice’s training. Employers are expected to financially support apprentices until completion, including paying the cost of resits, when necessary. Resits are ineligible costs and are not funded by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).

The EPAO and training provider are not responsible for resit costs but may agree to contribute and can include this in their agreement at the beginning of the apprenticeship.

For example, a training provider may contribute to the cost of a resit if the apprentice fails a theoretical element of the training. An EPAO may offer one or more resits in the initial contract price.

The number of resits that can be taken by an apprentice will be at the discretion of their employer, unless the assessment plan limits this to one.

The ESFA recommends a limit of 2 resits, however more than 2 resits can be taken if needed, unless otherwise specificed in the assessment plan.

Apprentices cannot be asked to pay for costs of training and assessment and are not responsible for resit costs.

Pre-gateway agreements

It is recommended that employers, training providers and EPAOs agree how any resits will be paid for at the beginning of their contract. Employers and training providers should also agree in advance who will pay for resits not included in their contract.

Thanks Ben!! I've had a good read through.

Do you know whether we can go through Mock EPA assessments with the Apprentice during the practical period? I've read an area saying that Mock Tests are an ineligible cost but I've also read on the Apprenticeship Gateway guidance that we must "ensure that there is time for the apprentice to use any preparatory and practice materials provided by the EPAO" and our EPAO practice materials include Mock tests! We're just a little confused!