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Product code
FA0008
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Fee
TBC
Grades: Fail or Pass
Typical duration: 8 months
Status: Approved for delivery from 1st April 2026 (please note Apprentices must normally be aged 16 to 21 when they start. Exceptions may apply under the current apprenticeship funding rules.)
The Catering and Hospitality Foundation Apprenticeship provides younger people with an introduction to a range of occupations across the catering and hospitality sector.
Catering and hospitality assistants may work in hotels, restaurants, cafés, holiday parks, schools, hospitals and other settings where food, drink and hospitality services are provided.
The apprentice will develop broad technical knowledge and practical skills in areas such as food preparation, food and beverage service, customer experience, communication, stock use, food safety and workplace health and safety.
Alongside their technical development, apprentices will build transferable employability skills and behaviours that support their progression into employment, further training or a more specialised Level 2 or Level 3 apprenticeship.
The Assessments
The Foundation Apprenticeship will include two assessment methods:
- Knowledge exam
- Observation with questioning
Assessment may take place at appropriate points or milestones during the programme. It does not need to be reserved until the end of the Foundation Apprenticeship.
The observation with questioning may be assessed:
- directly by BIIAB, or
- by an approved Centre, subject to BIIAB’s approval and quality assurance requirements.
Further information about the observation requirements, permitted activities, evidence, questioning, timings and assessment criteria will be published in the Assessment Specification and supporting guidance.
The apprenticeship standard and assessment plan can be found here Catering and hospitality foundation apprenticeship / Skills England
Gateway to Completion Requirements
Before completion of the Foundation Apprenticeship can be confirmed:
- all required apprenticeship assessments must have been completed as above,
- the apprentice must meet the English and mathematics qualification requirements that apply under the current apprenticeship funding rules,
- the employer must confirm that the apprentice has suitably demonstrated the required employability skills and behaviours during the programme, and
- any other completion requirements set out in the foundation apprenticeship standard, assessment plan or BIIAB Awards assessment specification must have been met.
Get in touch to find out more
For further information about the Catering and Hospitality Foundation Apprenticeship, registering apprentices or working with BIIAB, contact our team by email or call 0115 854 1620 (Option 4).
BIIAB can provide the full assessment service, including delivery and marking of both the knowledge exam and observation with questioning.
Alternatively, eligible training providers can apply to become an approved Centre and assess the observation with questioning, while the knowledge exam continues to be set and marked by BIIAB.
We would also welcome the opportunity to work with training providers and employers during the development of the detailed assessments, guidance and supporting materials for this Foundation Apprenticeship.
Your experience of delivering catering and hospitality training and supporting younger apprentices can help us ensure that the assessments are valid, manageable, accessible and responsive to the needs of apprentices, employers and training providers.
Please contact our team if you would like to contribute to the development of these assessments.