Apprenticeship Assessment Newsletter: Autumn 2026

Welcome to the latest edition of your newsletter from the team here at IMechE. We hope you have all enjoyed the summer. In this edition we will be providing updates on the latest reforms to the world of apprenticeships, celebrating another assessment milestone and hinting at exciting changes coming here!

 

• Update on Apprenticeship reforms
• IMechE deliver 7000th assessment!
• Choose IMechE as your assessment organisation
• Apprenticeship Assessment Fees 2026/2027

Update on Apprenticeship reforms - Apprenticeship Behaviour Verification Guidance for Employers in England

Skills England have now confirmed how behaviours will be verified under the new standard. We’ve provided a summary below but you can read the full article here

This guidance explains employers' new responsibility for verifying that apprentices have demonstrated the behaviours required in their occupational standard before they can complete their apprenticeship and receive a certificate.

Key changes

• Employers now have primary responsibility for confirming apprentices have demonstrated the required behaviours.
• Assessment organisations and training providers are not responsible for assessing or quality assuring behaviours.
• Behaviour verification is a gateway requirement for completion, but behaviours do not contribute to the apprentice's grade.

What are "behaviours"?
Behaviours are the professional attitudes, conduct and standards set out in the occupational standard. They must be demonstrated consistently in real workplace situations over time, rather than through one-off activities.

What employers need to do

Employers should:

• Monitor behavioural development throughout the apprenticeship.
• Use existing management processes such as supervision, feedback, performance reviews and regular check-ins.
• Confirm at gateway that all required behaviours have been demonstrated sufficiently.
• Report this confirmation to the organisation requesting the apprenticeship certificate.

The guidance stresses that this should not create additional bureaucracy or require new assessment systems. It should build on normal workplace management practices.

Roles and responsibilities

• Apprentice: Demonstrate behaviours, reflect on feedback and keep examples of where they have shown the behaviours.
• Line manager/mentor: Provide opportunities to demonstrate behaviours, observe performance, give feedback and review progress.
• Training provider: Support progress reviews and provide guidance on assessment requirements.

Who can sign off?
Usually the apprentice's line manager signs off behaviours, but organisations can choose another appropriate person (or gather input from several people) provided they have sufficient oversight of the apprentice's work. A single employer confirmation is required at gateway.

Suggested process

1. Identify the required behaviours.
2. Discuss expectations with the apprentice early in the programme.
3. Record naturally occurring examples of behaviours.
4. Review progress regularly.
5. At gateway, confirm whether all behaviours have been consistently demonstrated. If not, the apprentice cannot receive their apprenticeship certificate.

What this means for employers in practice
For most employers, this should be a light-touch process that uses existing performance management and apprenticeship review mechanisms. The emphasis is on observing and recording behaviours demonstrated as part of normal work, rather than collecting extensive evidence or conducting separate assessments.
 

IMechE deliver 7000th assessment!

We were delighted and proud to recently discover that we delivered our 7000th Engineering Technician assessment. Elijah Moshi who works at Siemens Healthineers as a Technician completed his apprenticeship assessment and told us about the process and where he hopes to get to in his career. Keep an eye out in future editions for a full interview with Elijah but it was the perfect opportunity to thank all our assessors for their efforts and to all of the colleges and training providers we work with.

Choose IMechE as your assessment organisation

We offer the full apprenticeship assessment on an increasing number of standards, view the full list on our new webpage.

Apprenticeship Assessment Fees 2026/2027

Access the latest fee information and view our standard fee per learner for Apprenticeship Assessments in 2026/2027.