CAP1814 Guidance Material

Accreditation of Apprenticeships in Aviation (Maintenance & Engineering)

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Index

Abbreviations and Terms ...................................................................................................... 3

Industry Participating Members ............................................................................................. 3

Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 4

Occupational Architecture – Part M / Part 145 / Part 21 ........................................................ 5

Appendix A ........................................................................................................................... 7

A1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 7

A2 Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) – Remit within Apprenticeships ...................................... 7

A2 Proposing an Apprenticeship........................................................................................ 7

A3 Developing an Apprenticeship ...................................................................................... 8

A4 Developing an End Point Assessment Plan .................................................................. 8

A5 Protected Environment ................................................................................................. 8

A6 Qualifications within Apprenticeships ......................................................................... 10

A7 Grading /Marking of Apprenticeships .......................................................................... 10

A8 Gateways ................................................................................................................... 10

A9 End Point Assessments ............................................................................................. 11

Frequently Asked Questions ............................................................................................ 13

Qualifications of Assessors .............................................................................................. 13

Civil Aviation Authority Aviation House Gatwick Airport South West Sussex RH6 0YR

e-mail: ELDWEB@caa.co.uk

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Abbreviations and Terms

Industry Participating Members

Civil Aviation Authority – (UK Aviation Regulator (on behalf of DfT) to Aviation Licensing)

BAE Systems – (Part 66 & 147)

British Airways – (Part 145, M, 21G, 66 & 147)

Rolls Royce PLC – (Part 21G, 145 and 147)

Jet2 Airlines – (Part 145, M and 147)

Airbus Helicopters UK – (Part 21G, 145, M and 147)

Air Service Training (Perth) – (Part 66 & 147)

Civil Aviation Technical Training Solutions – (Part 147

Harrods Aviation – (Part 145 and M)

AMC Acceptable means of Compliance DfT Dept Of Transport

ATA Air Transport Association of America

IfATE Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education

CAA Civil Aviation Authority Part 66 EASA Engineer Training Regulations

CAP Civil Aviation Publication Part 145 EASA Maintenance Regulations

CR EU Commission Regulation Part M EASA Continued AW Regulations

CS EASA Certification Specification Part 21 EASA Design & Production Regulations

EASA European Aviation Safety Agency EPA End Point Assessment

MTO Maintenance Training Organisation

ESFA Education and Skills Funding Agency

MTOE Maintenance Training Organisation Exposition

DfT Department of Transport

OEM Original Equipment Manufacturer EPAO End Point Assessment Organisation

TNA Training Need Analysis

SME Subject Matter Expert

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Introduction

The CAP provides guidance for the of accreditation National Qualifications toward the issue of Part 66 licences by Further and Higher Education Training Establishments in England.

The CAA was approached by several key industry representatives to establish and implement a process for the acceptance and recognition of UK Apprenticeships. This also includes recognised Degrees and industry qualifications.

Recognition of the academic elements of these apprenticeships can, when properly accredited can be used to give credit toward the grant of a Part 66 Aircraft Maintenance Engineers licence. The framework established in this CAP allows for accreditation of the knowledge and skill acquired in recognised apprentices.

This document provides guidance to organisations wishing to accredit qualifications gained in their apprenticeships. The scope includes EASA / UK Part 66 Syllabus, equivalent aerospace qualifications within design, manufacturing, continued airworthiness and maintenance disciplines.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), is the EU agency responsible for establishing regulations for aviation within the EU (Regulations 748/2012 for Design & Production & 1321/2014 for Continued Airworthiness) and specifies the qualification requirements for maintenance & continuing airworthiness personnel. These regulations require companies and individuals to be approved in order to undertake design, manufacturing and maintenance tasks. For certain personnel involved in aircraft maintenance are required to hold an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer’s Licence.

The CAA is responsible for the regulatory oversight of aircraft Manufacturing, Continuing airworthiness and aircraft Maintenance in the UK. The personnel standards and requirements are defined within the respective regulations, however there are a significant number of common core skills in the manufacturing and maintenance environments. It is important to acknowledge that the transferability of skills within aviation is an essential part of this sector and therefore standardised this approach to apprenticeships, will help to ensure a consistent standard throughout the aviation industry.

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Occupational Architecture – Part M / Part 145 / Part 21

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Appendix A

A1 Introduction

The Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) regulate and approve apprenticeships in England. These apprenticeships are developed by employer led groups called Trailblazers and replace previous Apprenticeship Frameworks. These Trailblazer groups propose and develop Apprenticeship Standards for England and define the roles and duties required to be delivered within an Apprenticeship Standard. Each occupational standard focuses on specific knowledge, skills and behaviours., The trailblazer group works together and is supported and guided by IfATE, awarding organisations and professional bodies to develop apprenticeships that can be used in England. Only apprenticeships developed by the Trailblazer group and approved by IfATE by can be funded from the Government Apprenticeship Levy.

A2 Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) – Remit within Apprenticeships

This document defines the process that the CAA follows when accepting apprenticeship programmes, encompassing aircraft design, manufacturing, continued airworthiness and maintenance.

The Organisational Architecture Diagram (Page 5) contains all the apprenticeships that this CAP that have been recognised thus far. Subsequent approved apprenticeships will be included by further revisions to this CAP.

This CAP establishes the training and End Point Assessment standards. These standards are available on the CAA Website as accepted grading descriptors

All potential programmes must be proposed and presented to the CAA for assessment.

A2 Proposing an Apprenticeship

Organisations considering establishing an accredited apprenticeship should check for pre-existing standards and to speak to the relevant trailblazer groups.. If you’re not yet involved in a trailblazer, but have queries, please contact: apprenticeship.trailblazers@education.gov.uk

If there is no pre-existing standard and an industry need has been identified, the relevant trailblazer group should come together so that the members can clearly define and describe what the new standard should include*.

Other organisations with an interest in the proposed standard, such as sector or trade bodies, professional bodies, training providers, industry training boards or potential assessment organisations can also be invited to join the group. Whilst these other members can’t take on the role of group leader, they should be actively encouraged to provide their support and to contribute to the development of the apprenticeship standard.

A trailblazer group may also find that other employers or groups are interested in developing standards for the same or similar occupations. Wherever possible, groups should work inclusively and collaboratively together. Trailblazer groups should also be open to approaches from employers in other sectors who think the group’s standard is potentially useful for them too.

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A3 Developing an Apprenticeship

The main steps for industry developing a new apprenticeship standard must be clearly defined to ensure that they are easy to follow and are focused on employer centric, industry applicable needs.

An overview of the process is as follows:

Define the occupation

Clearly describe the knowledge, skills and attitudes/behaviours that will be requiredfor full competence

Clearly define details of the level of the apprenticeship and be sufficiently stretchingso that it will require at least a year of training (before the end-point assessment) withoff-the-job training accounting for at least 20% of the apprenticeship

Ensure standard aligns with the registration requirements of relevant ProfessionalBodies

Must contain minimum English and Maths requirements

Include mandatory qualifications, as specified by the current regulatory bodies.

A4 Developing an End Point Assessment Plan

The expectation of the CAA is that there should be a rigorous End-Point Assessment (EPA) that is essential to give employers/awarding organisations the confidence that apprentices completing an apprenticeship have achieved the occupational competence set out in the standard.

An EPA plan should clearly describe the approach to review, assess and test the knowledge, skills and behaviours that have been learnt during the apprenticeship.

An EPA plan will need to be approved by IfATE before the apprenticeship standard can be approved for delivery. The plan should also explain the requirements for the EPA, so it can be consistently interpreted by assessment organisations and Employers.

End Point Assessment Organisations (EPAO) must be approved by IfATE to be able to offer assessment services for a specific standard. EPAO’s are listed on the Register of Apprentice Assessment Organisations.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/register-of-end-point-assessment-organisations

A5 Protected Environment

The following provide Protected Environment Definitions, that must be considered when developing and accrediting Apprenticeship Standards: -

1. To ensure training can be carried out in a safe environment

An environment where the level of risk that the learner is exposed to is below the abilityof the learner to manage such risks, but still ensuring the learner receives a suitablelearning experiences to gain the situational awareness to deal with and minimise the riskthat will be experienced in their day to day career.

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The level of risk and hence the realism of task that the learner is exposed to should be increased gradually as the learner progresses through their training.

At early stages of training risks should be minimised by use of simulated environments and direct supervision to allow the learner to successful recognise or recall risks and skills appropriate to their training and how to deal with them – appropriate to practical level of training.

At later stages of learning the learner should be fully supported in realistic working environments to allow the learner to interpret information in their own words and apply the learned information in such a way to carry out their responsibilities so that they and those around them remain safe – appropriate to practical level of training.

To have an environment where aircraft parts and systems can be used as training aids within a workshop or classroom which is as close as possible to a Part 145 workshop or maintenance facility.

Aircraft parts and or systems will be used to demonstrate best maintenance practices, troubleshooting and error capture.

2. Any mistakes are a learning experience and not a safety hazard

It is expected that students will make mistakes during the learning process, these errors can be used as a positive learning experience and demonstrate the outcomes of such errors without placing active aircraft or components at risk.

3. Their work can be monitored effectively

This environment should be managed in such a way that the learning experience can be used to evaluate, measure competency and identify areas that need to be further developed in the student/learner.

4. Errors can be shown and used as a training aid

Where errors are made these can be used to demonstrate methods of error capture and the student given the opportunity to gain learning from these errors and develop skills and behaviours that will allow them to work in an active aircraft maintenance environment once the protective period / gateway has been completed.

5. Best Behaviour can be developed and encouraged in a safe and monitoredenvironment

Developing a good set of behaviours is an essential part of the training, the protected environment allows these behaviours to be closely monitored and developed. Any areas of improvement can be identified at an early stage and corrected. Behaviours must to be assessed prior to the learner moving into the active maintenance environment.

6. Any issues found can be managed and dealt with early in the apprentice’sdevelopment

All trainees will have varying speeds of development all of which need to be understood prior to release into the active maintenance environment. The protected period should be used to

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assess these Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours and an agreed level of competency set as a gateway to be achieved prior to being released onto the further development stages of training, which must involve supervised activities on in live maintenance tasks as soon as the learner is safely able to in order to ensure training is valid, authentic and as current as possible with regards to their chosen career route.

A6 Qualifications within Apprenticeships Qualifications

Aviation Apprenticeships are approved by the IfATE

All apprenticeships that have been approved for delivery by the IfATE will have the required qualifications (if applicable) to achieve that apprenticeship listed within the standard. These qualifications will be identified by the awarding organisation and assigned a QAN number, if appropriate. Where the required qualification is an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer’s licence the relevant EASA Part 66 modules, will be listed as the modules required to achieve that licence.

Where an Aircraft Maintenance Engineers licence is a requirement of the apprenticeship, the relevant Part 66 modules, must be passed.

The CAA will also look to accredit experience gained within a manufacturing environment under the skilled worker privilege that exists within Part 66.A.30.

All the qualifications listed within the standard must be achieved prior to the EPA being undertaken. Evidence must be provided to the assessor that these qualifications have been achieved.

A7 Grading /Marking of Apprenticeships Marking Structure

The training requirements, levels, examination and assessment standards are a critical part of the aviation licencing and safety system. The relevant requirements are detailed with EASA Part-66. Each apprenticeship standard will have its own End Point Assessment Plan which outlines the assessment methods used to obtain the overall EPA grade. The UK CAA reserves the right to review and amend the grading to ensure the intent of the regulations is fulfilled.

A8 Gateways

Through the course of the apprenticeship there will be two gateways to confirm the competence of the individual regarding theory, practical and behavioural capabilities. This will be:

1. Completion of the Level Two foundation phase (including the protected period), alignedto the applicable apprenticeship standard

2. Completion of the appropriate level development phase aligned to the standard

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A9 End Point Assessments All Apprenticeships which are delivered under the Trailblazer scheme are required to have an independent End Point Assessment (EPA) to ensure that the apprentice has achieved the required standard for the issuance of an Apprenticeship certificate.

In some circumstances it may not be practical for the apprentice to have the EPA assessment conducted in their own workplace. As a typical example a person who is employed solely by an aircraft line maintenance organisation does not necessarily have the required exposure to activities associated with a Base maintenance organisation and vice versa.

Therefore, with the flexibility of being able to utilise either an approved Emulation zone (Aircraft engineering training organisation) and / or a Part 145 Maintenance organisation is to be considered as the most safe; effective and practical way forward in meeting the EPA key areas of assessment.

Guidelines for the EPA are detailed within the IfATE website, see link below.

https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/developing-new-apprenticeships/developing-an-end-point-assessment-plan/

It is recognised that the assessment of the apprentice on completion of the training is a critical part of the apprenticeship and needs to be undertaken in manner that assesses the following key areas: -

• Knowledge – The successful completion of the qualifications at the required leveland acquisition of knowledge gained in the working environment

• Skills – The ability to effectively use the skills which have be delivered within theapprenticeship and use these in the work place in a safe and productive manner

• Behaviours/Attitudes – Demonstrate through actions and assessments that theyfully understand the behaviours and attitudes which are required to work within theAviation sector

Competency

Within the regulations there is a requirement for the employer to ensure the competency of all staff involved in the aircraft maintenance and manufacturing environments. It is therefore incumbent on the employer that appropriate methods of assessment are in place to ensure apprentices are competent for roles they are being trained to fulfil.

The EPA plan must identify the type of assessment process that will be used to confirm the apprentice reached the required level of competence. Typically, (between levels 3-5) these will consist of: -

• Professional Discussion with portfolio of evidence (Viva/Interview)• Observation in the work place with questions

Assessments of Level 5 and above will typically be based upon project assessment at degree level.

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Approved Independent assessor(s) will carry out the EPA and conduct the Professional Discussion (Viva) and Observation in the work place. The assessor will also examine the documentation, signed by the employer and used as evidence to judge Occupational Competence.

The approved assessor will conduct the Professional Discussion (Viva) to judge Occupational Competence. During the Viva the apprentice will need to present a logbook or portfolio of evidence to assist in demonstrating the appropriate knowledge, skills and behaviours to the employer, drawing from real work-based tasks accomplished. They will need to describe not only what they have done, but how they have done it and why.

End Point Assessment structure

The EPA structure must include the following elements

• Employer – must verify that the apprenticeship has been completed in accordancewith the approved apprenticeship standard e.g. via the final Gateway process. Thiswill involve reviewing and confirming evidence presented by the apprentice. This willbe particularly important due to the health and safety critical nature of the sector

• The approved assessor must test the occupational competence of the apprentice inline with the EPA e.g. professional discussion / observation

• The approved assessor will review the documentation provided by the Employer /training provider and confirm whether this meets the requirements laid out within theEPA

• On successful completion of the EPA the employer will submit their documentation tothe EPAO for the Apprenticeship Certificate to be issued

Note: Behavioural/Skills Assessments

During the apprenticeship it will be necessary, to assess the competence of the apprentice, to establish they are able to work safely and demonstrate the correct behaviours for the environment they will be working in. The required behaviours are: • Personal responsibility; comply with health and safety guidance and procedures, be

disciplined and have a responsible approach to risk, work diligently Comply with anyorganisational policies/codes of conduct.

• Work effectively in teams, leading teams and supporting others.• Effective communication and interpersonal skills.• Focus on quality and problem solving.• Continuous personal development.

Feedback

Individuals should be provided with evidence of any shortfalls observed in the EPA and how these can be addressed with further time, development and support.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What does the employer need to do to prepare for the EPA – verification of evidence

In order that an effective EPA is completed it is essential that all involved with the process understand what is expected of them, this includes the employer and the apprentice

The employer must ensure any managers and staff that will be involved with apprenticeships understand the elements of the apprenticeship program and that evidence obtained in the work place is correctly documented and verified.

Viva – how should this be conducted

The Viva or professional discussion is a key part of the EPA and must be carried out by an approved assessor. The viva must be carried out in an environment which is conducive to getting the best results i.e. quiet and with appropriate supporting aids i.e. note pads or computers.

What are the key areas to assess

The EPA is to confirm that the apprentice has achieved the level of Occupational Competence. The EPA should therefore be focused on the knowledge, skills and behaviours that are listed within the apprenticeship standard and the vocational activities he or she has completed during the apprenticeship.

If an apprentice fails an EPA – next steps

It would be expected that the gateways within the apprenticeship would identify areas that do not show the correct level of development is being attained. For apprentices who fail the EPA a report must be compiled identifying the areas which require further development.

This report should be supported by a development plan that is intended to bring the apprentice to the required level prior to EPA being undertaken.

Once the apprentice has completed the improvement plan a gateway review should be completed prior to conducting another EPA.

Qualifications of Assessors All industry assessors must have and be able to evidence suitable experience in the areas that they wish to assess. The proposed assessor should also be qualified to a nationally recognised standard, in one of the following areas:

• Industry and Manufacturing (Part 21J / 21G)• Continued Airworthiness (Part M / 145 / 147 / 66• Assessor Qualifications to be to a nationally recognised standard – i.e. NVQ, HNC,

City & Guilds

Furthermore, the individuals must be able to demonstrate recency in their respective fields of 6 months experience in the preceding 24 months to remain able to continue as a current Assessor.