With the next 18 months representing a key adjustment period, the summit provided a valuable forum for assessment organisations, providers, employers and regulators to explore what change will mean in practice and how quality can be protected throughout.

During the event, NOCN Group delivered two interactive workshop sessions and exhibited with a stand, providing opportunities to share insight, engage directly with stakeholders and contribute to sector-wide discussions on the future of apprenticeship assessment.

The Future of Assessment: Technology, Innovation and Quality

In our first workshop, The Future of Assessment – Technology, Innovation, and Quality, Leonie Thompson, Head of Assessment and Quality Assurance and Rachel Hobson, Group Director of Customer Services and Operations, explored how AI, digital tools and remote assessment technologies can support modern apprenticeship assessment.

As policy moves away from a single, end-point model towards a more flexible approach, where assessment can take place during the apprenticeship as well as at the end, the role of technology becomes increasingly important. Discussion focused on how innovation can enhance fairness, consistency and reliability, particularly across geographically dispersed assessor networks.

Drawing on NOCN Group’s experience, the session highlighted the importance of strong assessor training, standardisation and quality assurance, ensuring that innovation strengthens, rather than compromises, regulatory compliance. The key message was clear: technology should act as an enabler of professional judgement, not a replacement for it.

Navigating Policy Reform and Sector-Specific Challenges

Our second workshop, Navigating Policy Reform and Sector-Specific Challenges, led by Ryan Turner, Head of Regulation of Compliance and Tracey Patmore, Head of Product, focused on how recent and ongoing reforms are reshaping the design and delivery of apprenticeship assessment.

With ‘apprenticeship assessment’ replacing end-point assessment, and assessment organisations continuing to hold responsibility for assessment quality and outcomes, the reforms aim to streamline processes, reduce duplication and improve value while maintaining rigour. The session explored how shorter, more flexible assessment plans, modular approaches and proportionate assessment methods can better reflect occupational competence.

Particular attention was given to sector-specific challenges, including green skills, construction, and health and social care, where assessment must align closely with real-world working environments, safety considerations and employer expectations. Delegates discussed the growing role of employers in verifying behaviours, alongside increased flexibility for providers to deliver and mark certain assessment elements, where permitted by revised assessment plans.

Supporting a Managed Transition

Discussion across the summit, including insights from the keynote sessions, reinforced the importance of a managed and collaborative transition as the assessment reforms continue to be implemented.

In her keynote, Kate Ridley-Pepper, Director of Work Based Skills at the Department of Work and Pensions, outlined why apprenticeship reform matters, not only for the system, but for apprentices and employers themselves. Kate highlighted the need to remove unnecessary barriers, streamline processes and improve efficiency, noting that while apprenticeship achievement rates are improving, the current assessment model can be overly bureaucratic and, in some cases, disconnected from real workplace practice.

Delegates heard how existing end point assessment models can require apprentices to revisit learning after completion or produce artificial portfolios and projects that do not always reflect their day to day roles. With around 20% of apprenticeship funding currently spent on assessment, the reforms aim to ensure better value for money while maintaining rigour and public confidence.

A recurring theme across both workshops was the importance of a managed, phased transition. With revised assessment plans being introduced over time and existing models remaining available until new versions go live, collaboration between employers, providers, assessment organisations and regulators will be critical.

The summit reinforced the need for clarity, consistency and early engagement to ensure reforms deliver their intended benefits: a more proportionate, employer-led and apprentice-focused assessment system, without compromising quality or confidence.

For NOCN Group, the event provided an important opportunity to share insight, learn from sector peers and contribute to shaping a future-ready apprenticeship assessment landscape. As reforms continue to evolve, we remain committed to supporting the sector through high-quality assessment design, robust quality assurance and collaborative working throughout this period of change.