Our response to the COVID-19 crisis
|
Please see the information below for details about the assessment booking process and other administration items.
If you’re booking an AM2 or AM2S assessment please take note of the following information before you start:
Training Providers must register candidates on the correct assessment for the correct apprenticeship. These are:
NET does not have access to candidate registration details and cannot check, verify or confirm which assessment a candidate needs to undertake.
Candidates must undertake the AM2S not AM2 if they are on the Apprenticeship Standard. The EPA can only take place once the prescribed gateway checks have been approved.
Putting a candidate through the wrong assessment OR putting a candidate through EPA without satisfying the gateway checks is a serious breach of ESFA regulations. NET is required to notify all such instances to ESFA and other relevant parties for further investigation.
Training providers wishing to book an AM2 assessment should contact their chosen NET assessment centre in the first instance.
To book an AM2S assessment, training providers need to contract with NET directly.
Once the contract is in place, this will allow you to submit candidate evidence for gateway checks and book an assessment at your chosen centre, once the candidate has been authorised for assessment.
To set up a contract with NET please contact us.
If the candidate does not already hold an AM2 certificate, training providers wishing to book a full AM2E assessment should contact their chosen NET assessment centre in the first instance.
If the candidate already holds an AM2 certificate, they will need to apply directly to NET to complete an AM2E Supplementary Unit – more information.
To book a FESS assessment, training providers need to contract with NET directly.
Once the contract is in place, this will allow you to submit candidate evidence for gateway checks and book an assessment at your chosen centre, once the candidate has been authorised for assessment.
To set up a contract with NET please contact us.
From 01 September 2020 all gateway applications for AM2, including apprentices on an apprenticeship framework, must include evidence of enrolment on or achievement of a relevant Level 3 technical and/or competence-based qualification (for example, C&G 2357, EAL 1605, JIB Mature Candidate Assessment).
This evidence should take the form of a screenshot showing the candidate’s details and enrolment number from Walled Garden for City & Guilds, or the Learner History document from EAL. Alternatively, a certificate or certificate of unit credit from the accepted qualifications from the Awarding Organisation will be accepted.
Download a full list of acceptable certificates.
Evidence of alternative or historical qualifications will be reviewed on a case by case basis.
Candidates without the relevant technical qualifications who are working as practising electricians should be referred to the Experienced Worker Assessment which provides a route for recognising their knowledge and experience.
The following items must be submitted as part of the gateway check before booking an AM2S assessment:
Where the candidate does not already hold an AM2 certificate, the following items must be submitted as part of the gateway check before booking a full AM2E assessment:
If the candidate already holds an AM2 certificate the mandatory evidence must be provided directly to NET via the AM2E Unit Application page:
The following items must be submitted as part of the gateway check before booking a FESS assessment:
Assessment Fee
The recommended price for the AM2 assessment from 01 April 2021 – 31 March 2022 is £730.
Re-sit fees from April 2021
Please read our information on Section A re-sits from 01 April 2021 for background information if necessary.
The recommended price for re-sits is as follows:
Section | Re-sit fee 01/04/21 – 31/03/2022 | |
A1, C, E | £135 | |
B, D | £200 | |
Sections A2-A6 | 1 section – £180 2 sections – £280 3 sections – £350 4 sections – £425 5 sections – £475 |
Please note: Prices are reviewed annually. Re-sit charges for each section take account of the additional resource for centres in scheduling ad hoc activity rather than entire assessments. If a candidate needs to re-sit multiple sections, the charge must not exceed the maximum recommended price for AM2 or AM2S.
Assessment Fee
The recommended price for the AM2S and AM2E assessments from 01 April 2021 – 31 March 2022 is £780.
Re-sit fees from April 2021
Please read our information on Section A re-sits from 01 April 2021 for background information if necessary.
The recommended price for re-sits is as follows:
Section | Re-sit fee 01/04/21 – 31/03/2022 | |
A1, C, E | £135 | |
B, D | £200 | |
Sections A2-A6 | 1 section – £180 2 sections – £280 3 sections – £350 4 sections – £425 5 sections – £475 |
Please note: Re-sit charges for each section take account of the additional resource for centres in scheduling ad hoc activity rather than entire assessments. If a candidate needs to re-sit multiple sections, the charge must not exceed the maximum recommended price.
The recommended fees for the AM2E Supplementary Units are:
AM2E U1 – Containment and Safe Isolation Unit – £260
AM2E U2 – Testing and Safe Isolation Unit – £260
The recommended re-sit fee is £225 per unit.
Assessment Fee
The initial EPA cost from 01 April 2021 is £1985 per person, valid till 31 March 2022.
Re-sit fees
From 01 April 2021, the re-sit fees are as follows:
Section | Re-sit fee per section |
A: Working Safely | £165 |
B: Takeover Existing Systems | £300 |
C: Additions to Systems | £725 |
D: Commissioning Systems | £350 |
E: Assessment of Underpinning Knowledge | £165 |
F: Professional Discussion | £450 |
Note: Re-sit fees should not exceed recommended total EPA cost. Fees take account of the extra resource and cost to centres in providing partial re-sit support.
Please also read our article Section A re-sits from 01 April 2021.
The number of re-sits that can be taken by an apprentice/candidate will be at the discretion of their employer.
NET would require an apprentice/candidate action plan to be submitted after 3 re-sits, outlining any training to be carried out.
NET may restrict re-sit approval if verifiable training has not been completed and may contact the Training Provider, employer or candidate for confirmation. NET has the right to block candidates if suitable training has not taken place or there have been an excessive number of re-sits.
Please also read our article Section A re-sits from 01 April 2021.
The number of re-sits that can be taken by an apprentice will be at the discretion of their employer, unless the assessment plan limits this to one.
The ESFA recommends a limit of two re-sits, however more than two re-sits can be taken if needed, unless otherwise specified in the assessment plan. An action plan would need to be submitted after 2 re-sits.
If more than one section needs to be re-sat, this would need to be a re-take following further training.
Candidates only have to re-sit the section that was failed. If Section C: Additions to Systems is being re-sat, the candidate will also be required to commission the systems.
From the assessment plan: Some elements of the assessment will be regarded as safety-critical. Failure to meet the required standard in those areas identified as safety critical will result in an immediate failure of the component. Safety critical elements will be identified during on-programme training and assessment, and will include areas such as electrical isolation, aspects of Health and Safety and compliance with legally enforced regulations. A resit will only be eligible for further funding if additional learning has been undertaken and in compliance with current funding rules that may apply.
Candidates receiving a failure in these safety-critical circumstances will need to have a review of performance before being allowed through the assessment gateway for one further attempt at the end-point assessment.
Candidates receiving a Fail grade in any other circumstances will be allowed to attempt the end-point assessment on one further occasion. They will undertake a different assessment series to maintain fairness and standardisation of assessments. Any candidate retaking any assessment can still achieve Pass and Distinction grades for any components retaken.
Marginal (non-Fail) failures in non-safety critical aspects during practical assessments are permitted as long as the assessor is otherwise satisfied that the apprentice is competent and works safely to an acceptable standard. Such failures therefore do not automatically result in a Fail grade. The assessor can explore the issues further during the professional dialogue.
From 01 September 2020 all candidates, including apprentices on an apprenticeship framework, must provide evidence of enrolment on or achievement of a relevant Level 3 technical and/or competence-based qualification (for example, C&G 2357, EAL 1605, JIB Mature Candidate Assessment). Download the full list of accepted certificates.
This evidence needs to take the form of a screenshot showing the candidate’s details and enrolment number from Walled Garden for City & Guilds, or the Learner History document from EAL. Alternatively, a certificate of unit credit from the qualification enrolled on from the Awarding Body will be accepted.
Evidence of alternative or historical qualifications will be reviewed on a case by case basis.
Candidates without the relevant technical qualifications who are working as practising electricians should be referred to the Experienced Worker Assessment which provides a route for recognising their knowledge and experience.
The apprentice must provide formal evidence of an achievement of an acceptable equivalent qualification. This should be in the form of an official qualification certificate from the awarding organisation, or (if the apprentice does not have a qualification certificate and cannot source a replacement from the awarding organisation), a formal notification and/or statement of results, issued by the awarding organisation or a screen shot of their Personal Learner Record which must contain apprentice details, unique learner number, qualification achieved, awarding organisation date achieved and grade awarded.
Please note: where PLRs are submitted in PDF format in place of certificates the relevant qualification is initialled with an asterisk or coloured highlighter. Please only submit the ‘learner achievement’ which is required as the mandatory evidence and not the learner events for candidate privacy and data protection.
The apprentice must provide formal evidence of achievement of an acceptable equivalent qualification. This should be in the form of an official qualification certificate from the awarding organisation, or (if the apprentice does not have a qualification certificate and cannot source a replacement from the awarding organisation), a formal notification and/or statement of results, issued by the awarding organisation or a screen shot of their Personal Learner Record which must contain apprentice details, unique learner number, qualification achieved, awarding organisation date achieved and grade awarded.
Please note: where PLRs are submitted in PDF format in place of certificates the relevant qualification is initialled with an asterisk or coloured highlighter. Please only submit the ‘learner achievement’ which is required as the mandatory evidence and not the learner events for candidate privacy and data protection.
Once the candidate been successful in their AM2 assessment, NET will issue the Assessment of Occupational Competence certificate.
Please note NET does issue the apprenticeship completion certificate for the apprenticeship framework.
Please see our Certification page for more information
Please note that NET applies for the apprenticeship certificate, and not individual training providers or centres. The certification service is carried out by ESFA.
Please note that NET applies for the apprenticeship certificate, and not individual training providers or centres. The certification service is carried out by ESFA.
Please read the information on our Appeals page to understand the appeals process and what does and does not constitute an appeal. If a candidate wants to lodge an official appeal against the outcome of their result, please ask them to read the information this page.
Appeals can only be made by candidates. A training provider or employer will not be able to appeal on their behalf however they must have their support, if they are an apprentice.
Once an appeal has been lodged the candidate will not be able to book another assessment until this appeal is resolved. If they have already made a booking before the appeal has been received by NET, the booking will be cancelled and cannot be re-booked until the appeal is resolved.
The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IFATE) has now appointed Open Awards to carry out its External Quality Assurance service. As a result, the IfATE has confirmed that a £40 charge per apprentice will be imposed for all AM2S and FESS assessments that take place after 01 November 2019, irrespective of when the assessment was booked. AM2 is not affected.
NET has no control over these charges and will be required to pass the charge in full to the EQA provider. NET will add the charges to centre invoices monthly for all in-scope assessments and centres will need to adjust their invoices for assessment accordingly.
The NET board has agreed that from 31 August 2019, a 2-year time limit will be introduced for candidates to pass all required elements of an assessment. Individual sections that were passed will ‘expire’ after that time if the candidate has not successfully completed the remaining sections. A candidate can re-register but will be required to complete all sections.
This will apply to assessments where the first sitting takes place from 31 August 2019.span>
© 2021 NET Services.
Designed and built by eplatforms.