What we learned from over 600 conversations with assessment teams: the challenges they’re facing, the support they need and how the sector is adapting in 2025.
This year, we’ve delivered a significant amount of training and support across the assessment sector: 570 remote sessions, 21 face-to-face sessions, 16 events and 11 webinars attended by 1,159 people. These interactions not only shape how we build software that genuinely supports awarding and assessment; they also give us a clear view of what teams are dealing with day to day — the pressures, the uncertainties and the realities behind operational delivery.
Across all of this work, certain patterns have stood out. They’re not always captured in policy updates or formal reports, but they surface consistently in the practical questions and conversations that arise when people are trying to deliver assessments in a rapidly changing environment.
Here are our thoughts on what these 600+ sessions reveal about the sector in 2025.
Remote learning has become the sector’s operating rhythm
A few years ago (particularly during the Covid crisis) remote delivery felt like a compromise. Today, it’s a standard delivery practice that fits how assessment teams really work.
Most people joining remote sessions aren’t sitting in quiet offices with time to spare. They’re juggling provider calls, standardisation meetings and inboxes that are never really empty. Remote learning gives them something valuable: the ability to build confidence and capability in their software without interfering too heavily with their day-to-day.
Face-to-face sessions still matter (which is good, because we love getting together with clients in person), but accessible learning has become a valuable tool for busy teams trying to navigate a changing sector.
Interestingly, in a way this change mirrors what’s happening for learners, too. As training and assessment become increasingly digital and on-demand, the way we support the people delivering them is evolving in the same direction.
The need for straight answers and practical insight has never been higher
Across the 11 webinars we delivered this year, a consistent pattern emerged. People weren’t looking for theory or abstract debate, they were focused on practical questions that influence day-to-day decisions, especially in light of sector reforms: how to judge consistency, how to interpret requirements in a way assessors can apply, and where variation genuinely supports delivery rather than adding risk.
These questions come from teams who understand the stakes in a pressurised, changing assessment environment. With more oversight, more evidence expectations and more scrutiny, there’s far less room for uncertainty. People want confidence that their approach is getting the best results for their business and the learners they facilitate.
This has become one of the strongest themes of the year: practical, not abstract, guidance. With so much perceived confusion and secrecy around reforms, organisations are looking for clear, actionable advice.
Organisations are preparing for a different kind of future
The discussions happening in events and face-to-face sessions show a sector that knows incremental change won’t be enough. AOs are reviewing qualification portfolios with sharper attention to employer demand and examining where variation is emerging and what’s influencing it, while providers are rethinking how their delivery models align with current and emerging expectations.
There’s a growing recognition that the next phase of reform will require more than tightening existing processes. It calls for new ways of working, clearer operational expectations and, above all, stronger capability across teams.
In other words: readiness isn’t just about compliance, it’s about having the people, processes and confidence to respond to change quickly.
How the Skilltech Solutions team is responding
Our role in all of this goes beyond delivering individual training sessions. It’s about helping organisations strengthen their assessment practice, reduce unnecessary variation and give teams the confidence to make great decisions in a changing environment.
Everything we deliver – whether training, support, adjustments to software, or brand-new tools like Accolade – is shaped by what we hear in these conversations. The sector’s needs are evolving, and our work continues to evolve with them.
As we move into 2026, we look forward to supporting all of our existing customers – and a lot of new faces – with the training, support and advice they need. We look forward to seeing all of you in person, on remote training, and at jam-packed events calendar throughout the year ahead.
If you want to learn more about any of our platforms – whether it’s epaPRO, Accolade or SkilltechOne – the first thing to do is book a demo (and if you’re an existing customer, ask your Customer Success Manager for more info as well!).
