We’ve got more exciting news!

We’re proud to announce that we now offer End-Point Assessment for the Hospitality Manager Apprenticeship!

Hospitality Managers work across a huge range of organisations including bars, restaurants, cafés, hotels and more. These managers tend to specialise in a particular area, such as food and beverage or conference and events management. However, their core knowledge, skills and behaviours remain the same. Hospitality Managers across all businesses must have a passion for exceeding customer expectations and a desire to fulfil their business’ vision and objectives. Individuals in the Hospitality Manager role must be highly motivated team leaders who have a talent for management along with specific industry skills.

Hospitality Manager apprentices will be trained in multiples areas of a hospitality business and will gain vital skills, knowledge and behaviors across the people, customer, leadership and business sides of their organisation. In this Apprenticeship, apprentices must also specialise in a particular area to demonstrate their technical skill and expertise. They can could become a:

• Food and Beverage Service Manager
• House Keeping Manager
• Front Office Manager
• Revenue Manager
• Conference and Events Manager
• Hospitality Outlet Manager
• Kitchen Manager
• Multi-functional Manager

After they complete their training, apprentices will take on the final pieces of assessment, also known as End-Point Assessment, so that they can pass their Apprenticeship. End-Point Assessment consists of multiple assessment components that ensure an apprentice is able to meet nationally set standards.

The End-Point Assessment for the Hospitality Manager apprenticeship is split into three parts:

• On-Demand Test
• Business Project
• Professional Discussion

On-Demand Test

The 90 minute On-Demand Test will include 35 scenario based multiple choice questions, with 4 response options per question. The Test will be on-screen and computer marked unless required otherwise. It will take place in a controlled environment, away from the day-to-day pressures of work. The questions will cover the knowledge and skills identified in the Apprenticeship Standard. Some questions will require knowledge recall whereas others will require the apprentice to consider a course of action to a problem based on a real-life workplace activity. The questions will require the apprentice to demonstrate reasoning and joined up thinking against key elements of the Standard.

The Test will include two parts: Part A which will be the core section of the Test, and part B which will be the specialist function of the Test. The core section will have 25 questions and the specialist section will have 10 questions, with all questions worth one mark each. The apprentice must pass both sections to pass their Test overall. Above a pass, marks from Part A and B will be combined to determine the overall Test grade.

Business Project

The 9,000 word Business Project will focus on an opportunity, challenge or idea which the apprentice thinks will improve their business. This Project requires the apprentice to gather information and make recommendations to management. It is designed to give them an opportunity to demonstrate their wider understanding of the business and examine how the operations of their specialist function could be improved.

After they’ve passed Gateway, the apprentice must write a two page proposal of their Business Project. In this proposal, the apprentice should identify the problem, issue or challenge and their intended approach to researching solutions and making recommendations. They will then discuss this with their End-Point Assessor at a planning meeting.

The Project will contain the following:

• Introduction and background
• Outline of challenge or opportunity
• Aims and objectives
• Identification of measurable improvements and benefits to the wider organisation
• Evidence of consultation and engagement of stakeholders
• Analysis of costs and commercial context
• Legislative requirements explained and adhered to
• Evidence of effective research
• Justified recommendations for implementation
• Proposed timeframes for implementation

The Project should follow a basic structure and a template will be provided for the apprentice by the End-Point Assessment Organisation (that’s us!) The apprentice will be given sufficient time (a minimum of 40 hours if required) during their work time and within the 2 month EPA window to research and write the Project.

Once the Project has been finished, the apprentice must submit their report to the End-Point Assessor at least seven days before their Professional Discussion.

Professional Discussion

The Professional Discussion will be a 90 minute structured discussion between the apprentice and their End-Point Assessor. In the End-Point Assessment window before their Professional Discussion, the apprentice will gather constructive and objective feedback on their competence across the areas below from their superior, a peer and a direct report. These areas include:

• Business
• People
• Customers
• Leadership
• Specialist function with specific criteria
• Behaviours (for the core and specialist function)

If the apprentice does not have a superior, then a main stakeholder, such as a prime customer or supplier, can be used instead. The feedback itself will not be marked, but used by the apprentice to reflect on the knowledge, skills and behaviours they developed during their programme.

The End-Point Assessor conducting the Professional Discussion should normally be the same person who assessed the Business Project. This allows the End-Point Assessor to ask the apprentice a minimum of 30 questions in relation to:

• Coverage of the standard (a minimum of 5 questions)
• Reflection on the superior, peer and direct report feedback (a minimum of 5 questions)

The Professional Discussion will take place in a controlled environment, away from the apprentice’s normal place of work. If all parties cannot meet in the same place, then the Discussion may be conducted using technology such as video conferencing as long as fair assessment conditions are maintained.

The Professional Discussion will recognise areas that have already been covered in the Business Project so that the apprentice is not reassessed in an area which they’ve already demonstrated competence in. The number of questions asked in total will vary according to the breadth and depth of the answers given. However, as a minimum, there must be 30 questions asked to cover all the criteria requirements and give the apprentice the opportunity to demonstrate all of the requirements needed for a distinction.

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We hope this helped all interested apprentices and employers gain more knowledge of the Hospitality Manager apprenticeship! To keep up to date with the latest news from TQUK EPA, return to our blog or follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

See you around The Hive!