What is Gateway and when does it begin?
Great question! Gateway is one of the most essential stages in the apprenticeship process and lies directly between the on-programme stage and the End-Point Assessment stage. This is the point in which an Employer decides an apprentice is competent enough in their skills to do the job and that any further training wouldn’t be necessary to successfully complete the End-Point Assessment.
If you are an apprentice it is crucial to remember that being gateway-ready does not propose just doing the mandatory prerequisites that the Employer has assigned; being gateway-ready is compelling the Employer that your overall competency meets – or even surpasses – the standards and can be implemented in a professional, and straightforward manner. By achieving this in the on-programme, the Gateway will then be granted and the process of preparing for the End-Point Assessment begins!
With that being said, the Gateway has an abundance of different requirements depending on the apprenticeship being obtained. Here is a simple list of a few gateway typical requirements:
- English L2
- Maths L2
- Reference from Employer
- Standards Completed/Portfolio
- Declaration of Authenticity
Once the desired requirements are completed, they must be handed off to the chosen End-Point Assessment Organisation to be evaluated before moving on to the EPA.
How does an Employer conclude that the apprentice is ready for Gateway?
The Employer asks themselves a series of questions when considering if an apprentice is at a desired point of competency and ready to move into the Gateway:
- Is there adequate proof that the apprentice is prepared to move on?
- Does the proof reveal achievement of the knowledge, skills and behaviours?
- Does the achievement fulfil or surpass the level required?
Once these questions are (hopefully) all confirmed, the Employer will then ask the final question:
- Does the apprentice reach full competency?
If the answer is “YES” then the apprentice will be granted access to the Gateway!
To sum it all up, Gateway reveals that the Employer and training providers are confident that the Apprentice is equal or exceeds the level of standard required and that their skills can be beneficial to the workforce. It is critical to remember that the climb to the Gateway is a long one and requires a lot of knowledge, skills and behaviours to be obtained and it is not something that is given out negligently by the Employer. Although this may be one of the most stressful times for an Apprentice, it is imperative to remember that this is just one step closer in completing the apprenticeship process and either starting on their chosen carrier or enhancing the role the Apprentice already undertakes
December 9th, 2019