All apprentices in the UK must meet the Functional Skills requirements to complete their apprenticeship.

This involves providing acceptable evidence of Level 2 (or above) qualifications in maths and English.

During application apprentices should submit Level 2 qualifications. All apprentices must also sit Maths and English Initial Assessments in their application. This is an apprenticeship standard requirement as set by the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

For Career Starter candidates (who are applying for apprenticeship roles at a new employer) you must submit acceptable evidence to be able to be approved for roles.

For those applying for an apprenticeship with their current employer, if you cannot submit acceptable evidence during the application, you must pass both initial assessments to have your application accepted and are then required to complete the Level 2 Functional Skills exams during the programme with the support from the Functional Skills team.

Apprentices who are eligible for Functional Skills support will be contacted after day 42 on-programme (day 0 being the Flying Start) to book exams and optional tutor support. This timeline is due to compliance reasons - we cannot start this any earlier.

Apprentices who believe they already have existing sufficient evidence have until day 42 on-programme to submit this before being enrolled on the Functional Skills journey. At day 43 on-programme, apprentices who have not provided sufficient evidence will be sent exam booking and learning course details so that they can be supported by the Functional Skills team through a range of course options (live or asynchronous) to pass the Functional Skills exams.

Once apprentices have completed and passed their exams their certificate will be logged against their personal learning record which will enable them to complete the apprenticeship programme. It is important to note Functional Skills must be completed within the first 6 months of the programme.

What are Level 2 qualifications in Maths and English?

Level 2 qualifications in Maths and English are (usually) completed in secondary school. You can review acceptable evidence as outlined by the government here.

Does Functional Skills learning count as OTJ?

No - this is considered separate from learning related to your apprenticeship.

Why do you need to have Level 2 qualifications?

Apprentices at Level 3 and above are required to provide a full pack of evidence to achieve the qualification. This is a mandatory requirement of the apprenticeship standard as outlined by the Education and Skills Funding Agency. Within this pack must be evidence of qualifications in both Maths and English (in the title) at Level 2 or higher.

What is the difference between the Initial Assessment and the Level 2 Functional Skills Exams?

All apprentices must sit Maths and English Initial Assessments in their application - this is not the same as Functional Skills evidence.

What do the exams look like?

The additional exams are 2 hours for Maths and 3.5 hours for English.

The exam board is the NCFE. You can access their website here. Exams are sat remotely with the NCFE sending the apprentice the link to access the exam. All exams must be completed in one sitting. You can not start and stop exams. Past English and Maths past papers can be reviewed at any stage of the apprentice journey.

Is there a cost associated with the Functional Skills exams?

Those who are funded by the Government Levy are funded for 3 attempts at each exam. If these attempts are exceeded, you may have to fund further attempts with an external provider. Further information will be provided directly if this is the case.