During these strange times, Crosby has again been leading the way within the apprenticeship standards which we deliver, by supporting our EPAO’s to seek flexibilities in some of these standards. Our lead trainers Tara Davies and Chris Riley developed and presented a way to carry out practical butchery assessments remotely, leading to great results.
The meeting on Thursday 7th May 2020 was hosted and chaired by Mike Whittemore, Head of Food & Butchery at Crosby, and involved the proposal and demonstration of remote EPAs for the Apprentice Butcher Standard. The meeting was attended by the Worshipful Company of Butchers, Institute for Apprenticeships & Technical Education, National Association of Craft Butchers and two of the End Point Assessment Organisations for the standard; Occupational awards Limited & FDQ.
Whilst demonstrating his own butchery skills, Chris performed a Mock EPA using a lamb shoulder through an online video sharing platform. This was also demonstrated in an offline setting to cater for all apprentices, whilst complying with the rules and instructions needed in an ordinary EPA setting as outlined in the assessment plan.
The innovative minds of Crosby colleagues combined with the support of all other stakeholders mean the Butchery End Point Assessments can continue during the pandemic whilst creating alternative EPA methods longer-term.
Following the constructive talks with the relevant stakeholders, Chris said “This is a great opportunity for the future of craft skills apprenticeships for remote Assessment. This also keeps momentum within the apprenticeship and eliminates the possibility of disengagement. I am very pleased with the outcome of this experiment and I look forward to seeing it in action.”
Chief Executive Paul Cadman also commented ‘ One of the most rewarding aspects of apprenticeships is how they bring together lots of industry players and the Government to provide solutions for the common good of the industry and apprentices. This is a wonderful example of that collaboration in action.’
The video demonstration from our Butcher Trainer Chris Riley can be seen below:
