2024 in review: A look back on the last year with Skilltech

To say we’ve been busy this year is something of an understatement. It feels like our feet haven’t touched the ground since January – but in the best possible way. We’ve launched new products, improved existing ones, taken our team up and down the UK to numerous events, forged new partnerships, strengthened long-standing ones…and as if that wasn’t enough, we squeezed a few charity events in the calendar, too. And did we mention our football sponsorship…? 

After such a brilliantly hectic year, we thought we should pause for a moment and appreciate what we – and you, our lovely partners, clients and assessors – have done in the last 12 months.  

Strap yourselves in, it’s quite the list.  

In February, we introduced epaPRO Assess, in partnership with risr/ 

What do you get when you combine the software of two industry leaders in the EdTech market? An all-in-one platform that fulfils all your end-point assessment needs. We started the year with a bang, landing epaPRO Assess in February. The platform is the result of our partnership with global assessment and learning software company risr/. Together, we set out to transform the EPA experience for apprentices, learners, administrators, and assessors everywhere, delivering one platform for tracking, managing and streamlining the entire apprenticeship journey. From the feedback we’ve received so far, we’re confident we achieved that goal. Read more about it here: Introducing epaPRO Assess.   

Apprenticeship funding changed in April 

In April, funding to apprenticeships changed. It raised a lot of questions across the sector, and we’ve done everything we can to support the apprenticeship sector through those changes. You can find out more about the changes and how we’re helping EPAOs reduce drop-out numbers to maximise the impact of apprenticeships affected by the changes to the levy here: What do the latest funding changes mean for apprenticeships?  

In July, we co-sponsored FAB’s EPA 2024 conference with risr/ 

In a pivotal year for end-point assessment and skills, and with a General Election on the horizon, we co-sponsored the Federation of Awarding Bodies’ EPA Conference 2024 with risr/ in July. EPA delivery was top of the agenda, with attendees discussing how best to protect our industry’s interests in a new political landscape. There are some interesting discussion points from the event summarised in this blog: EPA 2024 – Shaping the Future of Independent End-point Assessment.  

September saw us attend the Apprenticeships Conference in Birmingham  

It felt like we had just packed up our exhibition stands when we set off again with risr/ to the Apprenticeships Conference in Birmingham on September 19th. Over 15 speakers from across the sector gave talks on the evolving nature of end point assessment, with industry influencers from across the apprenticeships sphere in attendance. It was another great opportunity to discuss the future of EPA, and tell people how we plan to shape our strategy to support EPAOs, assessors and apprentices. Our roundup of the event can be found here: Apprenticeships Conference 2024. 

Skilltech 1 launched: a new hub for all Skilltech software 

We’ve always been focussed on making life as easy as possible for EPAOs, assessors and the apprentices that go through our assessment platforms. That’s why in September we brought Skilltech 1 to the market: a new hub that acts as a single point of access for all our software.  

In October, we won an award and sponsored a football team!  

Yes, that’s right. In the midst of all the product launches, conference sponsorships and partnerships, we decided to sponsor the Stafford Rangers Juniors Under 8s football team.  
They’re a talented bunch with so much passion for the sport, and we couldn’t be happier to have the Skilltech brand on the back of their shirts – in our eye-catching neon pink and blue. We were also delighted to receive Lifetime Training Group’s Growth Award!  

Another FAB event in November, this time in Leicester 

The Federation of Awarding Bodies held their flagship event on 25th and 26th November, and we were delighted to join them. The conference, exhibition and awards ceremony celebrated the achievements of the assessment sector over the last year and looked ahead to changes happening in the future. Speaking of which… 

In November, we announced our exciting new platform: Accolade. 

FAB seemed like a fantastic opportunity to let the rest of the industry in on our secret: a new platform, based on our successful epaPRO, but for general awarding. Accolade, which launches in full early in 2025, brings all of the functionality, simplicity and intuitive action of the epaPRO platform to general awarding, providing a single point for all assessment management and administration. Take a sneak peak at the future of general awarding here: Introducing Accolade. Keep your eyes peeled over the next few months for more details.  

So, there you have it, the main events from our whirlwind 2024 calendar – and a glance ahead at exciting things to come next year.  

How have the last 12 months been for you? If managing end point assessments brought added stress to your year, why not see how epaPRO could help in 2025? Join us for a demo to see how the platform could make life easier for you.