Electrical industry assessment network comes together for NET Centre Conference

The organisations responsible for assessing more than 5,000 apprentice electricians each year came together for the NET 2017 Centre Conference. 

Representatives from NET licensed centres in England, Wales and Northern Ireland attended the one day event, which looked at the changes to the apprenticeship landscape and the impact this has on NET and its centre network.

Attendees heard from NET chief executive Carolyn Mason and NET technical development manager Jon Dicken about changes in apprenticeship policy, updates to the AM2 assessment and the infrastructure that supports it, and work underway to develop new assessments for the specialist areas of the electrotechnical industry.

Pat Allen, lead employer for the Fire, Emergency and Security Systems (FESS) Employer Group, also spoke about the FESS Apprenticeship Standard and the apprenticeship’s end-point assessment, which NET is currently developing.

NET chief executive Carolyn Mason said: “We held this conference to ensure our centres understand how the changes in government policy affect NET, the AM2 and the network of licensed centres that deliver it and to update them on what we’re doing to ensure the assessments we offer fit within those reforms and reflect the needs of employers.”  

“We also wanted to brief them about other assessments we have been asked to develop by employers, for example the FESS end-point assessment, which we’re currently working on, and others for specialist areas of the electrotechnical industry that are developing Apprenticeship Standards.

“It’s an exciting time for apprenticeships and for all those involved in supporting and delivering them, and we want to ensure that what we offer continues to provide a high quality, comprehensive assessment of the competence of those who want to work in the electrotechnical industry and its specialist areas. We were delighted so many of our centres attended the conference and plan to hold further events for centre coordinators and assessors later in the year.”