New awarding organization for the sector
EMPI Awards added to register of end-point assessment awarding organizations for apprenticeships
THE extractive and mineral processing industries now have a new and independent awarding organization for end-point assessment of apprenticeships.
EMPI Awards has been accepted on to the ‘Register of end-point assessment organizations’ by the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) and is recognized by the qualifications regulator, Ofqual, as an end-point assessment organization (EPAO) for ‘Mineral Processing Mobile & Static Plant Operator’.
EMPI Awards is brought to the sector by Philip Brain Associates Ltd, who are widely regarded as industry experts in the development and delivery of occupational and vocational competence assessment. It is this experience has allowed the development and formation of the new awarding organization.
Philip Brain Associates will continue to provide vocational competence consultancy and assessment to UK extractive and mineral processing companies. This will allow EMPI Awards to focus on providing a credible, independent and alternative apprenticeship end-point assessment service, thus negating potential internal conflicts of interest which could arise from other apprenticeship training involvement.
Depending on demand from apprenticeship employers and providers, EMPI Awards hopes to grow its portfolio of end-point assessment qualifications, offering the industry a choice of end-point assessment awarding organizations.
Philip Brain, chair of EMPI Award’s board of governors, said: ‘EMPI Awards is an exciting new opportunity for us and for the industry. Having been approached by employers and training providers seeking to engage with our practical assessment expertise, we decided to embark on this venture of setting up a brand-new awarding organization.
‘For many years employers and training providers within the sector had no choice when it came to awarding organizations. Now there is a choice that promotes open competition in the EPAO market, which is a view encouraged by the ESFA.’
For further information visit: www.empiawards.co.uk
