EPA Gateway can be entered anytime after 12 months from starting the apprenticeship
You can enter from 10 May onwards
The Gateway is a point of access to EPA
Essentially, you submit your documentation and BCS will approve or deny your request to start your final project
We will submit, on your behalf:
Once we’ve submitted all documentation at Gateway, we wait 10 working days for approval
If a request is denied, we’ll get a clear steer on why it has been.
We haven’t yet had someone denied entry through Gateway
After those 10 days, you’ll be able to start your final project
Documentation of what you’ve worked on throughout your apprenticeship
There’s no typical length for the portfolio. We’ve seen documentation in the range of 20 - 80 pages, or 5,000 - 15,000 words.
Map to the KSBs in an appendix
We need to submit your mapping document which will give an indication to the assessor on where you feel you’ve met the KSB
Your portfolio is not directly assessed
It is used as the basis for the “professional discussion”, which determines 50% of your grade.
A conversation about your portfolio
Questions focus on the criteria which relate to the KSBs
You’ll be asked a minimum of 12 questions, and the assessment is 60 minutes
Only what you say will be assessed, you must articulate something for it to count
We’ll hold mock assessment sessions in May to get ready for Gateway
The final project must be something:
At Gateway, an apprentice will submit a summary of what the project will be and mapping to a set of KSBs
Your project must be submitted within 9 weeks of starting
Roughly, 7 weeks are spent working on the project and 2 weeks documenting
I’d strongly suggest that you write every week and not all at the end
We submit two forms at Gateway:
An apprentice requires approval from their employer that they feel the apprentice is ready to be assessed