What Apprenticeship Terms Actually Mean

Vacancy adverts are full of jargon: standards, levels, Gateway, EPA. Here is what each term means, so you can compare roles and know what you are signing up to.

Apprenticeship adverts mix job-ad language with terms most applicants have never met: standard, level, Gateway, EPA, off-the-job hours. Knowing the vocabulary helps you compare vacancies quickly and ask the right questions before you commit. This glossary explains the terms in roughly the order you will meet them.

Standards, Levels and Reading a Vacancy

• Apprenticeship standard: the approved description of an apprenticeship, setting out the knowledge, skills and behaviours you must learn. There are more than 700 types in England, and every vacancy is tied to one standard.
• Level: the difficulty of the qualification you earn. Foundation apprenticeships sit at level 2 and levels run up to degree level, with completion taking between 8 months and 5 years depending on the level.
• Foundation apprenticeship: a level 2 route into an industry for people aged 16 to 21, or for those with an education, health and care plan. No specific grades or qualifications are needed to apply.
• Knowledge, skills and behaviours (KSBs): the three things every apprenticeship trains and assesses. Every assessment asks you to show evidence of them.

Employers list entry requirements such as GCSE English or maths; anything additional must appear in the advert, and you must not be in full-time education to start. If you are new to all this, our first-timer’s guide to apprenticeships covers the basics before you get into the fine print.

End-Point Assessment and Apprenticeship Assessment

• End-point assessment (EPA): an independent assessment at the final stage that tests the KSBs you have gained. You cannot achieve your apprenticeship without passing it, and because the EPA is a regulated qualification you can expect fair marking and protection if things go wrong.
• Apprenticeship assessment: the new approach announced in February 2025, allowing assessment throughout the programme rather than only at the end. It is being introduced gradually, so ask your training provider which approach applies to your standard.
• Assessment plan: the document describing how you will be tested for your standard. Every EPA must include at least two distinct assessment methods, such as knowledge tests and practical tasks.
• Assessment portfolio: your evidence collection, built from day one, showing how you applied your KSBs at work. Link each piece to a specific KSB, with notes on your role and what you learned.
• Resit: sitting one or more failed assessment components again without further training. Resits are only for failures; you cannot use one to improve a grade you have already passed.
• Retake: a full re-attempt following a supportive action plan addressing the weaknesses identified. Timescales and fees are agreed between the employer and the assessment organisation.

Gateway: The Checkpoint Before Assessment

• Gateway: the point before the EPA can start, when the employer and training provider review whether you have met the minimum requirements of the standard. Only apprentices who pass through Gateway can begin the EPA.
• Minimum requirements: evidence of, or passes in, functional skills in English and maths, any qualifications set out in the standard, and the minimum duration of training completed. The training provider also submits a signed Gateway declaration form.
• Functional skills: English and maths qualifications often required alongside your main training. Keep certificates safe, as providers commonly ask for proof at Gateway.

Off-the-Job Training: What Counts and How Many Hours

• Off-the-job training: training received during your normal working hours for the purpose of achieving the KSBs of your standard. It must deliver new learning and cannot be part of your normal duties, even when it happens at your workplace. The minimum is six hours per week, calculated as an equivalent across your normal working hours over the planned duration, excluding the end-point assessment period.
• Off-the-job record: the log of your training hours. You cannot pass through Gateway, take the EPA or complete your apprenticeship until the required amount has been recorded.

Expect around 80 per cent of your time on the job and the rest spent studying, at your workplace, a college, a training provider or online. Ask at interview how the employer structures those hours, because arrangements vary.

Who Does What: Employer, Provider and Assessor

• Employer: pays your wage, provides the job and shares responsibility with the training provider for keeping you on track. The advertised role must let you develop the KSBs of the standard.
• Training provider: delivers the off-the-job training, registers you with the assessment organisation and books the assessment.
• End-point assessment organisation (EPAO): the independent body that runs and quality assures the assessment, from registration through to results and certificate. It is separate from the employer and provider to keep assessment impartial. For an integrated degree apprenticeship, the university acts as both trainer and assessor.

Wage, Contract and Funding Terms

• Apprenticeship agreement: the contract between you and your employer. Training received under it is what the off-the-job requirement refers to, so read it carefully before signing.
• Levy and non-levy employers: larger employers pay into an apprenticeship levy that funds training and assessment costs. Non-levy employers can access funding for assessment costs up to the funding band maximum, so the cost normally does not fall on you.

Apprentices earn a wage and holiday pay. The rate depends on your age, the level of the role and the employer, so check the current National Minimum Wage rate for apprentices on GOV.UK.

Where to Verify a Standard Before You Apply

Before applying, look up the standard and its assessment plan on Skills England’s apprenticeship finder; it tells you exactly how you will be tested, which helps you judge whether the role suits how you learn. Live vacancies in England are listed through the find an apprenticeship service on GOV.UK. For how this plays out at higher levels, see our guide to degree apprenticeships, and our application guide for help writing one.

Related guides

• A First-Timer’s Guide to Apprenticeships: the entry points, levels and how apprenticeships work day to day.
• How to Write an Apprenticeship Application: step-by-step help with CVs, forms and interviews once you have shortlisted roles.
• Degree Apprenticeships: Earn a Degree While You Work: how the higher-level option compares with going to university.

Questions students ask

What is the difference between an EPA and apprenticeship assessment?

End-point assessment (EPA) happens at the end of the apprenticeship only. Apprenticeship assessment, announced in February 2025, allows assessment throughout the programme, and the change is being introduced gradually, so which approach applies depends on your standard.

Do I have to pass the end-point assessment to complete my apprenticeship?

Yes. You cannot achieve your apprenticeship without passing the assessment, and if you fail a component you will be offered a resit or a retake under the rules in your assessment plan.

What counts as off-the-job training?

Training received during your normal working hours that delivers new learning towards the knowledge, skills and behaviours of your standard. It can happen at your workplace, but it cannot be part of your normal duties.

Who chooses the end-point assessment organisation?

Your employer or training provider selects an approved organisation, separate from both of them to keep the assessment impartial. For an integrated degree apprenticeship, the university acts as both training provider and assessor.

This guide is general information for students in the UK. Dates, fees and rules change, so always check the latest details with UCAS, GOV.UK, Student Finance England or your university or college before making decisions.