End-point assessment (EPA) FAQs

Proficient is our end-point assessment registration and administration portal.

Apprentices must be registered on Proficient for a minimum of 90 days before they are due to enter end-point assessment. This allows us to forecast capacity and ensure that we have the availability to accept your apprentices at Gateway and deliver end-point assessment.

This step-by-step guide details how to register your apprentices, put them through Gateway, set up new users for the platform, and more.

Yes. We charge up to 15% of the EPA for each standard, which will be invoiced after the learner has been registered on Proficient. The remaining amount is then invoiced when the apprentice is accepted at Gateway. You can find our registration and Gateway fees here.

Yes. After you have registered your apprentice, you’ll be able to update information such as their employer or contact details as and when required.   

Once end-point assessment has been requested, we receive a notification that the apprentice has been presented and is ready to undergo the Gateway audit. Our EPA Support team will then review the evidence and inform you of the outcome of the Gateway audit within four working days of the request date.   

When you register learners on Proficient, you’ll be required to provide an expected end-point assessment date. It’s important to update the apprentice’s expected end-point assessment start date on Proficient if this changes, as it allows us to forecast as accurately as possible. Your point of contact within the Relationship team will send you a monthly report to review your apprentices’ profiles and can support with any changes required.

The checklist on Proficient has an itemised list of all mandatory documents that are required for that standard to be uploaded. Information on each standard’s requirements can be found in the specification and guidance document for each standard under the ‘support materials’ tab on Proficient. Once the apprentice has gathered all evidence for their end-point assessment and the tripartite meeting has taken place, you’ll upload this evidence to the ‘checklist’ within Proficient and request EPA.

End-point assessment is requested through the Proficient. Please find instructions on how to do this in our Proficient user guide. 

Yes. Results are released within five working days of a completed assessment and uploaded to the apprentice’s profile on Proficient for you to download and share with the apprentice. The overall end-point assessment grade will be released within five working days of the last completed assessment, uploaded to Proficient, and emailed directly to the apprentice, with the points of contact highlighted on the EPA Booking form.

No. As an end-point assessment organisation (EPAO), we must remain independent; so, while we’re able to provide feedback on areas within the assessment plan criteria that have or have not been met, we’re unable to provide developmental feedback.  

Certificate claims are submitted to the Department for Education (DfE) 10 working days after the end-point assessment overall grade is released. The DfE advises that certificates can take up to 20 working days to arrive.

We have various SLAs depending on the assessment plan requirements. Please reach out to the EPA Relationship team to discuss. The relationship team can be contacted via phone on 0191 240 8950 or email at [email protected]  

Our resources are stored on Proficient, which hosts various support materials for all things end-point assessment. This includes:  

• assessment platform guidance 
• end-point assessment contract and operational handbook 
• general guidance 
• links to previous webinars 
• policies and procedures 
• Proficient user guide and bulk upload templates 
• standard specific guidance 
• regular updates. 

Once the contract is signed, all customers will be allocated a dedicated point of contact who will be on hand throughout the end-to-end journey to provide advice, guidance, and support. The relationship team can be contacted via phone on 0191 240 8950 or email at [email protected]