The Apprenticeship Assessment landscape is shifting. With the Apprenticeship Reforms on the horizon, the apprenticeship sector is moving toward a model of increased flexibility. At Cambridge Spark, we aren’t just watching this change happen, but engineering a response that puts the learner and the employer at the heart of the journey.
Our strategy is built on what users actually need. Which will allow us to implement an innovative new assessment approach. This will ensure the reforms lead to better retention, higher quality outcomes, and a clear return on investment (ROI) for your business.
Our Approach: Reimagining The Apprentice Journey Through Two Core Principles
1. AI-Powered Personalisation
Utilising our own platform EDUKATE.AI, we’ll continue providing constant feedback and assessment, enabling practice in a low-stakes environment, building the confidence learners need for summative assessment activities
2. The Showcase model
Our approach is built around applied learning. Apprentices tackle real business challenges from the start, often delivering measurable impact within their first six weeks. Throughout the programme, learners document their progress, creating a "Showcase" of evidence. This isn't just a portfolio; it’s a record of professional growth and the tangible value they’ve added to your organisation.
Navigating the Reform Landscape
Flexibility is a huge win for the new system, but it does bring new challenges. We’ve identified the potential hurdles and developed a proactive strategy to handle them.
|
Sector challenges |
Our opportunity & approach |
|
Assessment variability: Flexible methods could lead to varying standards across programs. |
Standardised Internal Process: We track Knowledge, Skills, and Behaviours (KSBs) consistently, regardless of which external Assessment Organisation (AO) is used. |
|
Expanding responsibilities: On-programme assessment changes the scope of the delivery role, which could overwhelm staff and learners. |
Innovation: Our cutting-edge proprietary system EDUKATE.AI already enables our assessment practices to support learners, employers and staff. We will evolve and develop further to utilise AI and automation to simplify workflows, allowing learners and delivery staff to focus on high-value development rather than paperwork |
|
Choice density: Too many assessment options can be confusing for learners and employers. |
The "Showcase" Framework: Instead of a complex menu, our proposal is building a "Showcase" of evidence, providing clear milestones while allowing flexibility in how that evidence is presented (e.g., discussion vs. presentation). |
|
Maintaining quality: Moving away from a single endpoint assessment might be seen as "cutting corners". |
Incremental Evidence Development: We maintain a gold standard by requiring robust, "baked-in" evidence generation from day one. Generating evidence throughout the programme, ensuring sustained competence is proven, not just tested, and delivering tangible results over time. |
A Future-Ready Partnership
The goal of our planning—conducted through the eyes of learners, mentors, and employers—is to create a methodology that ensures assessment quality and learner confidence. We are looking to test these models with focus groups to ensure our offerings are not just theoretically sound but enable first-class practice. If you are interested in getting involved, please get in touch with the Cambridge Spark team.
To keep up to date with upcoming industry changes, subscribe to our mailing list.