Paperless Apprenticeship Enrolments
When I was first exposed to the world of ‘work based learning’ just over 10 years ago I was simply amazed at the sheer amount of paperwork that had to be completed to enable the student to enrol onto the course. The training was funded by the UK government body then known as the SFA (Skills Funding Agency), now the ESFA (Education & Skills Funding Agency). This paperwork has to be completed by Colleges and Training Providers when signing up the learner so that they can draw down the funding for the training that is being delivered — meaning that it is an absolutely critical part of the process.
I remember going to do my first enrolment of 7 learners who were embarking on a Customer Services NVQ. After printing out what must have been around 500 pages, then organising, stapling and putting them into plastic wallets — I headed out complete the sign ups. Not only was this a cumbersome and frustrating process that took almost two and a half hours to complete but it was also a poor initial experience for the learners of whom I know some were immediately put off doing the course. I mean who wants to fill out forms for 2 hours plus just to get onto a training programme?
This experience led me on the path to try and come up with a better way — by utilising the latest mobile technologies to enable us to complete these forms electronically, with the aim of reducing paper, printing, scanning, manual data entry and to try and make the entire process more efficient. When I started working on this project 3 years later in 2011 I knew that things could be significantly improved but I never thought I would see the day when an Apprenticeship enrolment could actually be completed remotely by all 3 parties (Learner, Employer & Provider).
Well, that day has come!
I am actually witnessing fully remote enrolments today and the benefits are huge!
With the evolution of the Paperless Form Apps that we had initially developed for form filling on a face-to-face basis — we are now seeing the use of our Web Forms being used in a collaborative way which is enabling the enrolment process to be completed in a fully remote format. With the launch of a new feature known as ‘Third Party Approval’ the electronic apprenticeship enrolment forms can be completed by each party remotely, electronically signed and submitted to the next person.
This enables training providers to pre-populate a large amount of the forms before they are sent onto the apprentice who then fills in the gaps before signing and sending onto their manager who can then review the form, also sign electronically and then submit it back to the training provider or college. This new process is not only quicker than before, but the user experience is massively improved.
The Web Forms can be accessed on any device; phone, laptop, tablet or pc — and because each party can complete their own section at their own convenience, the need for all parties to be in the same place at the same time is no longer required, meaning a saving in travel time and expense for all involved.
If a mistake is made then this is not a problem as the training provide or college has the ability to ‘request a change’ from any of the parties. The user is notified by email, the change or changes are highlighted on the web form and the parties can re-sign electronically as they did before if required. Historically the only option in this case would be to travel back to see the learner and/or the employer to get the mistakes rectified on the paper based forms — meaning more wasted time and expense.
What we now have are some really big improvements to what was a costly, time consuming and inefficient process. There is no doubt that new developments in the technology that we use today has played a massive part in this progression but there has been one other major factor in this happening and that is the shift in mindset within the sector itself. Our customers have always been focused on trying to improve efficiency and reduce costs — but it’s a few of our largest customers who have really taken the bull by its horns and pushed the theory of what we have been trying to do for the last 7 years to the next level.
For me, this is a really exciting time within the education sector especially when it comes to maximising the use of technology that is available. Not only to minimise waste — both in time and paper usage but to ensure that the apprentices and their tutors, coaches and assessors are able to truly focus on the “learning” aspect and not be bogged down with unnecessary administration.
With the utilisation of electronic apprenticeship enrolment forms enabling a paperless, remote sign up, alongside interactive learning materials, ePortfolios and online assessments — it feels like we are truly moving towards a better experience for all those involved in the delivery of apprenticeships and work based training.
