L4 Commercial Procurement and Supply Apprenticeship

There are 3 main elements to this apprenticeship: Knowledge, Gateway, and End Point Assessment

The Knowledge element takes approximately 15 months and includes the mandatory qualification – CIPS Level 4 Diploma (Part 1) plus the Knowledge and Application modules. Gateway to End-Point Assessment takes approximately 4 weeks followed by the End Point Assessment which takes 5-6 months. The maximum duration of this Apprenticeship is 24 months.

Individuals will become competent in all stages of the procurement cycle and able to investigate, analyse and recommend solutions for nonroutine complex problems. Including budgeting, costing, risk, whole lifecycle costing, increasing efficiency and effectiveness

The CIPS level 4 qualification is assessed by online examination and a combination of Essay based and Multiple Choice. Apprentices enter End Point Assessment Gateway when they have successfully passed the level 4 diploma, evidenced Functional Skills level 2 and CIPS Ethics Test.

Part 1 CIPS Level 4 Diploma consists of 8 exams. 6 Multiple choice and 2 essay-based assessments are taken over 5 examination series.

Part 2 EPA (End Point Assessment) Project Report – (5000 word) Work-Based Project Report focusing on 2 elements of the procurement cycle

Part 3 EPA Presentation and Questioning Interview – 10min presentation focusing on the Apprentices role in Procurement and Supply, followed by 35min questioning interview.

Each part of the EPA is assessed by the End Point Assessment organisation (EPAO) and awarded a grade of Distinction, Pass or Fail.