Training Provider Guidance for Public Sector Commercial Procurement and Supply Apprenticeship Level 4 (APO1)

Once your apprentice’s final CIPS L4 Diploma exams have been taken; you should notify CIPS of expected numbers for upcoming gateway opportunities and fill out an enrolment form. 

Training Providers could make use of the time between the final CIPS exam and before results are announced to begin getting apprentices compliant with the Gateway requirements which are-

• Have successfully completed the CIPS Level 4 Diploma in Procurement and Supply confirmed by CIPS as the EPAO
• Have achieved English and Mathematics Level 2 (A*-C / 9-4 at GCSE).
• An appropriateProject Title and Scope of a work-based project, agreed with both CIPS and the apprentice’s employer.  
• As the training provider, it is your responsibility to ensure the apprentice’s Gateway evidence is checked and forwarded to CIPS as part of the gateway requirement. 

Once diploma results are released (or upon gateway start date) CIPS will issue you with ShareFile access. This is a secure platform where you will be able to upload apprentices’ gateway evidence.

CIPS will confirm via email, to yourself and your apprentices that the gateway requirements have been met. In the case of any Gateway evidence not being acceptable CIPS will provide you with feedback. You will be able to resubmit amended/new evidence and your apprentices will join the next gateway.

Following this, apprentices will be issued with a case study from CIPS by the published release date.

Inevitably, the variety of experiences available to Commercial apprentices in the public sector may mean that some apprentices have less exposure to certain aspects of the procurement cycle than others. In order to provide all apprentices with an opportunity to demonstrate that they meet or exceed the standards expected of them, they are required to complete a case study.

Apprentices are required to produce a written 2000 word analysis of a case study which will be issued by CIPS.  The final assessment will demonstrate through application to the practical environment, the knowledge, skills and behaviours required from a successful apprentice on the programme and, as a result those expected of Commercial Professionals.

The assessment methods are designed to be complementary and if the apprentice fails the case study, they are not permitted to submit their showcase portfolio or access the panel interview. If the apprentice fails the case study, they will receive feedback and are permitted to revise and resubmit their work. However, those apprentices who submit their case study a second time are not eligible for a distinction. A case study may only be re-submitted once. If an apprentice fails on the second attempt they will not be permitted to progress through to the end point assessment.

Before beginning work on their showcase portfolio, your apprentices will agree on some objectives with their line manager for the final six months of their apprenticeship. As the Training Provider it is your duty to make sure they are on track to meet these objectives.

Over the remaining six months your apprentices will professionally document and present their achievements in order to demonstrate real-world professional capabilities and show the authenticity of their work. As the Training Provider you must make sure they are only including their very best work which covers all criteria as stated in the 'Apprenticeship Standard: Public Sector Commercial Professional Standard'  

You must have regular communication with your apprentices throughout the six month period to make sure they are on top of their Showcase Portfolio and provide any support they may need.

You will be able to submit your apprentices’ Showcase Portfolio from 14 days after they have received the result of their case study assessment by the published deadline.

When submitting the Showcase Portfolio’s, you must ensure that apprentices have included a signed copy of the ‘Declaration of Authenticity’ which can be found in the guide you will receive after contracting.

After successful completion of the showcase portfolio, the apprentice is required to attend a panel interview of up to one hour. As the Training Provider, it is your responsibility to co-ordinate with CIPS, the apprentice and their employer an acceptable date and location for the interview. It must fall within 90-120 days after the case study was submitted.

After successful completion of the showcase portfolio, the apprentice is required to attend a panel interview of up to one hour. As the Training Provider, it is your responsibility to co-ordinate with CIPS, the apprentice and their employer an acceptable date and location for the interview. It must fall within 90-120 days after the case study was submitted.

The interview is an opportunity to explore particular areas of work where panel members require reassurance that the apprentice meets the standard required. For stronger apprentices, the assessors may use the interview to confirm that the apprentice exceeds the standards expected of them and is therefore worthy of a distinction. The interview is also a means of ensuring that the work completed by the apprentice is all their own.

Apprentices will also be asked a set of standard questions to ensure consistency. This will be from a question bank produced by CIPS which you will not have access to.

The assessment panel comprises of three assessors; the Lead Assessor is a representative of CIPS as the end-point assessment organisation. The apprentice’s line manager and one other member of staff from the public sector will form the remaining two members of the panel.

As the Training Provider it is your responsibility to ensure that the apprentice is prepared for the interview through the use of practice interviews. More information will be found in the guide received after contracting.

After the interview the panel members will assess the performance of apprentices and agree a score for that part of the EPA. Both assessments are graded using a model of 1-5, 5 being ‘consistently exceeding the standard in most areas’. The full model and marking criteria can be found in ‘EPA Guide for L4 Public Sector Procurement and Supply’ which you will receive after contracting.

The scores from each stage are added together to give a final score. To pass the EPA assessment, apprentices must achieve a minimum total score of 6, with no less than a 3 in either assessment stage. For an overall Distinction, they must achieve a total of 8 across the two assessments.

Once final results have been confirmed, CIPS will request certificates from the ESFA. Information on re-sits, reviews and appeals can be found within the EPA Policies and Procedures.