Marine Electrician L3 Apprenticeship
End Point Assessment (EPA)
The Marine Electrician level 3 apprenticeship is designed to develop the professional standard required of people working in the Maritime sector as Marine Electricians. The model has been determined by an employer group consisting of small, medium and large sized employers, including British Marine, who represent the industry. The concept of ‘competence’ is considered to be very important to employers within the sector. This is due to the technical precision associated with the production and installation of marine components and assemblies.
Marine electricians may work for boat manufacturers, refit and repair boatyards, marinas and specialist marine electrical and marine electronic companies. These can be small, medium or large businesses within the marine leisure, small commercial, and superyacht sectors. These sectors employ over 33,000 people.
Marine electricians can undertake work on a variety of boats including, for example, motorised cruisers, narrowboats, sailing boats, work boats, and superyachts. The broad purpose of the occupation is to conduct a wide range of marine electrical, and marine electronic work operations that include the design and installation of marine assemblies and sub-assemblies. Upgrades, diagnostics, and maintenance to existing marine electrical and electronic systems and marine electrical and electronic repairs on boats, ensuring the safe and optimal use of a boat’s electrical and electronic systems and services, that meet customers’ requirements.
Marine Electricians are responsible for installing, maintaining, monitoring, fault finding and repairing a wide range of marine electrical and electronic systems. They are responsible for undertaking the work from inception through to completion, including commissioning the electrical work, testing it and supporting sea trials.
In their daily work, an employee in this occupation interacts with other marine electricians, line managers and a wide range of associated marine trades such as boat builders, marine engineers, stock control staff, and project managers. They also interact with customers, suppliers, other technical staff, and regulatory and industry bodies (e.g. Lloyds Register, Maritime Coastguard Agency, Royal Institution of Naval Architects, and Institute of Marine Engineering Science and Technology).
Marine electricians’ work operations can be undertaken on boats in a workshop environment, or on boats moored or stored outside on hard standing near water, or in the water and they may also attend sea trials. Marine electricians need to work safely and may work in confined spaces, on or near water, aloft, or at height. An employee in this occupation will be responsible for completing their work to agreed timelines and in accordance with work instructions and relevant legislation, regulations, codes of practice and other relevant guidance and information. Marine electricians are responsible for designing and producing solutions to boat layouts and requirements, and producing marine electrical and electronic systems from electrical, engineering and technical drawings and specifications.
Marine electricians are responsible for performing a range of calculations, using formulae and electrical measuring equipment and galvanic bonding and cathodic protection.
Marine electricians are required to maintain effective lines of communication and solve problems relating to the marine electrical and electronic work requirements. They are required to discuss and understand customers’ electrical and electronic requirements and are responsible for undertaking diagnostic and problem solving to identify faults and make repairs.
They need to understand navigation systems, radar, radio and communications, helm control systems, alarm and monitoring systems, boat communication systems and interface protocols, including alternating current (ac) and direct currents (dc) distribution and loadings and power generation.
Marine electricians must comply with Health and Safety and the Electrical Safety at Work Acts including the control of substances hazardous to health (COSHH), the waste electrical and electronic equipment regulations (WEEE), and work at height and work on or near water requirements. They need to understand the dynamics of water and electrical systems and components to ensure the safety of themselves, the boat users and the vessel.
British Marine are an Ofqual recognised End Point Assessment Organisation (EPAO) and are listed on the Apprenticeship Provider and Assessment Register (APAR).
The Marine Electrician Assessment Plan details the assessments that must be undertaken during the gateway period of up to 3 months. The apprentice must meet all requirements of the assessment plan to successfully pass the end point assessment and complete the apprenticeship. For full details from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, please click here.
To aid in this journey we have created a series of resources (login required) to help plan and prepare for end point assessment.
Apprentice
Getting ready for end point assessment might seem a little daunting at first, which is why we have created a series of resources to try and support you in preparation for it.
You will receive access to all the resources we have developed to support you as soon as you are registered with us for EPA.
Marine Electrician Assessments - at a glance:
The end point assessment is made up of different assessment methods. From the point of being confirmed as in 'Gateway', typically you will have up to 6 months to complete these assessments.
As the end point assessment organisation chosen to complete these with you, we will schedule the dates to be met for each step of your EPA with you and your employer. Your training provider will be kept up to date with this information as well.
Click the image below to see detail.
The assessments for Marine Electrician are:
Method 1 - Multiple Choice Questions Test (MCQ). We provide you with a guide and access to the mock test on our Synap test platform.
Method 2 - Structured Interview, underpinned by a portfolio of evidence. The portfolio of evidence is submitted at the Gateway stage and is not assessed but informs the independent assessor in preparing for your structured interview. A full guide on what to think about and how to answer questions, along with the detailed criteria to be met, is available to you.
Method 3 - Practical Assessment. This assessment is split into two parts, the practical task and the short answer test. These are carried out face to face and may be in a room of a maximum of 5 apprentices undertaking their assessments.
Full, detailed guidance has been provided on how to prepare and the areas that will be covered.
This apprenticeship standard offers a Fail, Pass or Distinction grade structure. You must achieve all the pass criteria in all assessments and all the distinction criteria in the structured interview to achieve a distinction overall.
Employer
As part of the Marine Electrician standard, your apprentice will be required to produce a portfolio of evidence to be submitted as part of the 'Gateway' process. This portfolio should demonstrate the best examples of the apprentices work with you during their on programme training period. This should be no more than 10-15 discrete pieces of evidence. The portfolio is not directly assessed, but is used to underpin the structured interview assessment. From the moment your apprentice is registered with us, you and your apprentice will have access to resources to aid in developing the portfolio.
The apprentice will take part in a series of assessments, which start with the Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) Test. We follow with the Structured Interview, once both these assessments have been successfully passed, the apprentice will move to the practical assessment. This is a two part assessment and involves the apprentice taking part in a practical task and short answer test.
The support we offer:
In order to do this, we have provided extensive guidance alongside the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Educations (IfATE's) assessment plan on what knowledge, skills and behaviours need to be met via each assessment method. Our Portfolio guides provide insight on how the portfolio can be constructed and types of evidence to add.
All resources are available to you, your apprentice and training provider as soon as the apprentice is registered with us.
The Marine Electrician end point assessments require an employer expert to be part of the structured interview assessment. This person must not have had any involvement in the learning or training of the apprentice.
The employer expert is not allowed to answer on behalf of the apprentice and is only present to provide technical support, advice and guidance at the request of the independent assessor. This is in line with IfATE's assessment plan for the standard.
We have provided guidance specific to the employer experts role in the assessment.
We will offer your apprentice/s the opportunity to undertake their end point assessments either remotely, via Microsoft Teams or online remote proctoring (MCQ only) or face to face in person, where the assessment allows for a remote option.
Early engagement between British Marine, the employer, provider and apprentice is key to giving you and your apprentice the best possible support towards EPA.
Training Provider
Undertaking the Marine Electrician standard with us means access to resources and support to aid in your preparation of the apprentice.
It is our policy, in line with the assessment plan to undertake the practical assessment with a minimum 1 apprentice and maximum 5 apprentices at any one time.
Communication is a key part of our relationship with you, we want to make sure you are included every step of the way. We want to collaborate with you and the employer to create a seamless journey for all the apprentices from registration to certification.
We will offer your apprentices either face to face or remote, assessments (where applicable) and include you in the planning of these. We start the whole process with a planning meeting with the employer, apprentice and you, if you wish to join.
All our resources can be found on our LMS system, ACE360, and on our special login page of our website. You will be able to find copies of relevant policies and procedures on our website. These include but are not limited to,
Our dedicated email, will have someone available to answer your queries within 24 hours, or by the next working day if on a weekend or bank holiday period. If you need us sooner, you can call us on 01784223718 or 07584563285
FAQ
Gateway is the term used for the time between the completion of your training period with the training provider and getting ready for EPA.
You, your employer and training provider decide when you are ready to enter gateway, at which point all gateway requirements must be met. Your training provider will aid you in preparing the necessary documents for this.
These apprenticeships offer more specialised knowledge and skills and are equal to A levels.
We call this ‘reasonable adjustments’. Reasonable adjustments are something you should discuss with your training provider and employer as soon as possible. If you have any adjustments applied, for example, extra time in exams / tests then your training provider can make an application for this adjustment to us. We will review the request and supporting evidence and confirm if adjustments can be applied. If you want to know more about what counts as a reasonable adjustment, please speak to your training provider or contact us on
You can also find more information about reasonable adjustments here: Support for apprentices with a learning difficulty or disability (apprenticeships.gov.uk)
Whilst we have provided you with many supporting resources to aid in your preparation for EPA, it is still good practice to ask your employer and / or training provider
- to support you in gathering materials towards portfolio's (if required),
- to help you undertake mock assessments or mock tests,
- to explain anything about your assessments you are not sure about,
to aid you in identifying what projects / work is available to plan your assessments or portfolio submissions. This applies to:
- Boatbuilder - Project Portfolio,
- Marine Engineer - Professional Report
- Marina and Boatyard - Observation
- Marine Electrician - Portfolio
- Surface Finisher - Portfolio and Observation
Talking about your end point assessment early and continuing to talk about and prepare for it will only help you when it comes to the real thing.
Your results will be shared after each assessment has taken place with feedback and within set timescales agreed at your planning meeting. Your final results will be with you within 15 working days from your final assessment.
FAQ
Please contact us as soon as possible if you believe your apprentice/s needs any reasonable adjustments, we can walk you through the process around these with your training provider. Further guidance on what reasonable adjustments are and how we apply them can be found here: End-point Assessment Reasonable Adjustments Guidance / Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education
It can occur when an apprentice has the opportunity to develop quicker and therefore be ready for their EPA sooner than thought. If this happens, we suggest that you speak with your training provider. We also suggest to do some mock assessments if these haven't been done yet.
Whilst it must be an apprentice’s own work and the apprentice that undertakes each assessment, support from you in invaluable.
You may need to join their assessments as the employer expert, noted above. You may need to aid in the creation of their portfolio of evidence, for example, writing a witness testimony. You can help them by carrying out mock assessments, thinking ahead about the project work or what they can do in their observation, for their EPA, enable them to have access to everything they need to show. For example, going out on a sea trial, using specific spray facilities to apply coats to substrates.
We will give you and your apprentice a set of resources to aid in preparation for and going through EPA.
The planning meeting is the first meet with the independent assessor, apprentice, and you. We will extend the invite to your training provider as well.
The assessor will provide you with details of the assessments, set your project/s with you to complete the portfolio of evidence and set dates for each stage and assessment within EPA. This is a great opportunity to ask questions, for the apprentice to get to know a little about their assessor and aid in making them feel a little more comfortable.
Please note we require notice as per our assessment policy and procedure if the dates agreed cannot be met.
We will provide you with this information from the start of your journey through EPA with us.
Planning meetings can last around an hour.
Yes, the aim is that the same assessor will be responsible for conducting all the assessments for the apprentice, unless circumstances out of our control do not allow this. In this case we would keep you fully informed and make decisions to change with you and your apprentice.
FAQ
Any re-sits or re-takes are scheduled with our admin team in line with the requirements of the assessment plan, and our guidance provided to you. We will always work to book the dates for these that best suit the apprentice and employer.
Please follow the our reasonable adjustment policy and procedure and use this form to apply.
We ask you to this as soon as possible.
As the End Point Assessment Organisation, we will apply for the certificate and this will be delivered to the address stated on our management information when the apprentice was registered with us. Should you need to amend the delivery address, you can do this directly or let us know and we will update for you.
As part of our process, we ask you, the apprentice and employer to decide if you want face to face or remote assessments (standard applicable, some standards require all assessments to be face to face.)
If remote we use Microsoft Teams to carry these out, or may use a remote proctoring service for MCQ tests. Face to face assessments are largely carried out in the workplace, however there is occasion where doing these at the training providers premises is more suitable. Observations of the apprentices normal working duties will always be carried out in the workplace.
All assessments venues must meet the requirements of secure and safe assessment. We will work with everyone to determine the best place and time for these.
Re-sit or re-take interviews, presentation and / or interviews / discussions will take place remotely via Microsoft Teams, unless special arrangements have been agreed.
British Marine is committed to providing an excellent End-point Assessment service.
British Marine supports improvement in assessment quality and decision-making, however we recognise that from time-to-time situations arise where an apprentice considers that they might have grounds for an enquiry about results, an appeal against a decision related to that End-point Assessment, or a compliant in relation to the end-point assessment service provided.
Please follow our complaints and appeals policy and procedure regarding this.
The sooner you notify us that we are the chosen EPAO for your apprentice/s the better, but at least 6 months prior to entering 'Gateway' helps with planning and allocation of assessors.
We can make sure that everyone gets all the resources available nice and early as well as engaging with both the apprentice and employer to introduce ourselves and open up communication.
We have a wide range of support materials available for each standard. These include Assessment Specifications, Toolkits, Mock Assessments and more.
All support materials come at no extra cost and can be accessed through ACE360 or via this page on our website (login required).
The support material vary depending on the requirements of each standard.
We offer support materials for training providers, employers and apprentices.
Useful Information
Employers looking for an apprenticeship training provider, please click here to search providers for the boatbuilder standard.
Looking for an apprenticeship vacancy in Boatbuilding, try these sites, dedicated to apprenticeship vacancies:
