What is a professional discussion?

A professional discussion is a structured, two-way dialogue between the apprentice and their End-Point Assessor. It's designed to help the Assessor understand the extent of the apprentice's learning. The length of time the assessment takes varies from standard to standard and in most cases there's a 10% leeway on the set time to allow the apprentice to finish their final answer if they're halfway through it. The Assessor will typically prepare their questions in advance, but can ask follow-up questions to gain clarity where needed.

The apprentice's portfolio of evidence is often used as the basis for the professional discussion and typically they can have it to hand for reference during the assessment.