This article provides troubleshooting guidance for common Onboarding Wizard configuration, data and completion issues. For guidance on setting up onboarding steps, see: A How-To-Guide to the Onboarding Wizard.
Configuration & step setup issues
Will a learner's questionnaire answers carry over when they move to a new programme?
Answers from a custom onboarding questionnaire can carry over to a following programme automatically, but only if the new programme's questionnaire steps are configured to match the original exactly.
For answers to transfer, both programmes must have:
The same step names
The same question titles (including spelling and formatting)
If these match, the learner's existing answers will pre-populate when they begin onboarding on the new programme.
Note: Uploaded files within a custom questionnaire step do not carry over. These must be downloaded from the original programme and re-uploaded on the new programme.
When using the Tutor Console, I am unable to amend details in a Learner's Onboarding Wizard, why is this?
The ability for an admin/tutor to amend the Onboarding Wizard is currently not available in Aptem Console. This can only be actioned using Aptem Classic.
Will updating the skills scan on the Onboarding Wizard apply to learners already enrolled on the programme?
Yes - updating a skills scan in the Onboarding Wizard at programme level will update it for all learners currently enrolled on the programme.
So, if new questions are added in, they will show for existing learners as not being completed, and if questions are removed, they will be removed for existing learners.
I have set the Onboarding Wizard to mandatory, but learners have been able to progress through it without completing all questions.
Not all questions in the Onboarding Wizard are mandatory. These include the Household situation and some employment questions, so learners are able to move on to the next section without completing them.
Although configuring the Onboarding Wizard as mandatory will prevent learners from accessing their learning plans without completing it first, this configuration does not impact non-mandatory questions, just the wizard as a whole.
How can I set the "Next of Kin" questions to be mandatory?
Currently, the "Next of Kin" questions are located in the Extended ILR section of the Onboarding Wizard, and questions in this section cannot be set to mandatory.
However, these questions can be disabled, and instead you could create a custom questionnaire step, add the questions there, and set those questions to be mandatory instead.
Before doing this, please test that this works in the way that you envision using a test programme, and a test learner.
Why am I unable to upload and save documents to the Documents Step of the Onboarding Wizard?
This is due to the Custom Questionnaire configuration.
If this step is enabled, but there aren't any questions configured, you will not be able to upload documents to the Onboarding Wizard. Please disable this step or add Custom questions to allow you to add documents to the Onboarding Wizard.
Why am I getting an error when a learner accesses the CV step when onboarding?
This step will not work unless the CV step is enabled on the programme. Please edit the programme, go to the Onboarding token and enable the CV step from the Steps list.
Can you clone a custom page in the onboarding wizard?
There is no way to clone a custom page in the onboarding wizard so this will have to be recreated manually.
Is there a way to enter line breaks into the Description of the onboarding wizard field type 'Title & Description'?
Line breaks are not available in this question type at present.
Why am I seeing the error ‘Current Configuration has not been applied’ when trying to add custom questions to the Onboarding token, and why am I unable to create new custom questions?
This error typically appears when the total number of onboarding custom questions across the tenant has reached the maximum limit of 1024. Once this limit is reached, the system prevents any additional custom questions from being added and displays this error message.
If you encounter this issue, please contact Aptem Support. They can assist in identifying and removing unwanted or unused onboarding questions from the tenant, which will free up space to allow new questions to be added.
Why is Cognassist registration showing blank in Onboarding step?
This is intended system behaviour. The following image shows the default learner view:
When the learner clicks on the Cognassist Registration step in the Onboarding, the learner is automatically registered to Cognassist in the background, if the Email, Birthday and Postal Code are already entered in the system for this learner.
In the Programme builder -> Onboarding token, you can add a meaningful message to show if the registration is complete or Incomplete (as shown below). This message will then appear for the learner in the Onboarding step, once the registration process completes in the background, depending on whether it was successful or not.
Once registered, the Tutor must open the Learner’s Profile (Console or Classic) and click 'Send Invitation' to start the assessment (as shown in below screenshot). The link for the assessment will be sent to the learner's email.
For more information, please see the Cognassist Registration during Onboarding section in our help centre guide: Integrating with Cognassist.
Status & completion behaviour
A learner has completed onboarding, but the Off the Job evidence record did not generate automatically, why is this?
The OTJ Evidence Record document can only be created manually in Aptem Classic, and is not generated after the Onboarding Wizard is completed. This is because the Off the job Evidence Record document belongs to the 'Apprenticeship' group of compliance templates, while only the 'Commitment Statement', 'Apprenticeship Agreement', 'Training Plan' and 'Onboarding' templates are generated once the Onboarding Wizard is completed.
The onboarding progress for a learner is showing as 100%, however the 'Onboarding Status' is still 'In Progress'. Why is this?
This is because the learner has completed all the steps of their onboarding but has not generated and signed the compliance documents afterwards.
To have the learner's onboarding status change to 'Completed', please advise them to click on the Finish button at the end of their Onboarding Wizard steps. This will generate the compliance documents for them to sign. Once they sign the documents, the onboarding status will change to 'Completed'.
Why is the National Insurance Number appearing as blank in the Onboarding Wizard for a learner?
Please ensure that the 'National Insurance Number is mandatory' option has been enabled in the Individual Learner Record step of the Onboarding Wizard token for the programme that the learner has been enrolled onto.
Please note that when completing this step, if a learner does not have a National Insurance Number, they are provided with a telephone number which they can call to apply for one. A tick box will be available for them to check, to confirm that they have applied for a number, and will then allow them to by-pass filling in this field:
If this has been selected, this field will appear blank in the ILR Onboarding step.
Why is my learner being asked to sign a document when they have completed their onboarding?
This is usually caused by a late change or addition to the onboarding configuration.
If the change was made after this learner started the onboarding process, the learner will have to go back to the onboarding phase and compete all the changed steps.
One of our learners accidentally selected the wrong option during onboarding and is unable to change their answer as it appears greyed out. How can we resolve this?
Once the learner signs the ILR declaration, the information becomes locked and cannot be modified by the learner. However, administrators can make changes by accessing the user tab of the ILR in classic view, and selecting (and correcting) the option that requires changing.
I'm encountering an "Oops" error at the end of onboarding. Why is this happening?
Users may encounter an "Oops" error (as depicted in the screenshot below) at the end of their onboarding.
If the ILR token for the current programme is turned off, but the ILR compliance document is enabled for the programme, this problem arises because learners haven't completed ILR/Extended ILR during onboarding. As a result, no information is populated in these sections when the ILR document is generated at the end of onboarding, leading to the issue.
To fix the issue, please change the compliance document template from ILR Onboarding to None and None as shown below:
Alternatively, you can select the option to not generate a compliance doc at the end of onboarding by checking the following checkbox:
Data, ILR & programme behaviour
Why is the option to sign the declaration not available at the end of a learner's onboarding?
Please ensure that the 'Allow to sign without verification' option has been selected in the ILR token of the Onboarding programme builder.
If this option has not been selected, then learners will be able to bypass the declaration without signing it.
Information from the "About You" onboarding wizard step is being pulled through from a learner’s previous onboarding to their current onboarding. Why is this, and how can they make amendments?
The information from this step will pull through to the current one if the onboarding wizard on both programmes is identical. Please note that the learner will no longer be able to make any changes to this ILR step of the onboarding, and therefore if any changes are required, an Administrator will now need to make these changes to this step for the learner.
If the ILR has not been created, you would first need to create the ILR for the learner, use the edit ILR link in the Classic UI.
You can then make the changes in the User tab.
If a learner’s programme is changed during their onboarding, will the onboarding data be brought over to the new programme?
The details the learner has entered and the files uploaded during their onboarding will be pulled through to the new programme only if the Onboarding Wizard steps/questions are exactly the same in both programmes.
Where are exemption documents uploaded during the Functional Skills step of the onboarding process stored on the Learner's profile in Aptem Console?
These are currently only visible in Aptem Classic as the Functional Skills section where exemption documents are kept, has not yet been migrated to Console.
Why do I see the "Learner has not opted to share data" error message when using the 'Get PLR' option during Onboarding?
The option to opt out of sharing data is available when the learner is registered on the LRS website. You will need to visit the website, search for the learner's name using the ULN, and amend this option to resolve the issue.
Please ensure that the learner is aware that this change is being made, and that they agree to their data being shared. Once this option has been deselected, Aptem will be able to pull through the relevant PLR data as normal.
Where does the ULN number pull through from for new learners?
For new learners, the ULN number is created in the PLR step in their Onboarding Wizard. This can also be applied via a review, after learners completed their onboarding.
How can you access documents uploaded during onboarding now that the learner is on a delivery programme?
In order to access documents uploaded during a separate onboarding programme, you need to swap the learner back to the onboarding programme, download the documents, then re-assign them back to their delivery programme.
This needs to be done in Classic.
Please note that the 'Stop Programme' function in Console is not currently suitable if you intend to re-apply a learner to the same programme.
The new stop programme function in Console will force a withdrawal from the delivery programme and this will cause an ILR issue since it will not be reversed when the programme is re-applied.
Can you edit answers to questions from a previous onboarding if those questions are not included in the current programme?
No, you cannot amend answers to questions from a previous onboarding unless the learner is re-enrolled onto that specific previous programme. Only then can the original responses be updated.
Can I make individual onboarding fields mandatory?
Individual default onboarding fields cannot be made mandatory separately. The only option is to toggle the entire onboarding wizard as mandatory or optional as a whole.
While some fields will prevent a learner from progressing if left blank, the following fields can currently be skipped:
Learner Details section
How long have you been at this address (years)?
Employment Status section
Job title
Are you self-employed?
Are you currently in full-time education or training?
If you need to capture specific data for compliance purposes, consider using a custom questionnaire step in the onboarding wizard, where individual questions can be set to mandatory. See: A How-To-Guide to the Onboarding Wizard
What status is applied to the Functional Skills section when a learner uploads a document during onboarding?
In Aptem Classic, when a learner uploads a document to the Functional Skills step during onboarding, the status of the Functional Skills section on their learner profile is updated to "Evidence Provided - Compliance to Check".
This status means the learner has submitted evidence and it is awaiting review by an administrator or compliance team.
Note: This behaviour applies to Aptem Classic. Behaviour in Console may differ depending on your Functional Skills integration configuration.
Why can't a learner enter 0 or a decimal value in the "How long have you been at this address?" field?
The "How long have you been at this address (years)?" field only accepts whole numbers greater than zero. Entering 0, a decimal, or any non-numeric value will produce a validation error.
If a learner has lived at their current address for less than a year, they should leave this field blank. The field is not mandatory and can be skipped without affecting the rest of the onboarding wizard.
The learner is unable to enter their address on the ILR section when onboarding - the section is greyed out.
The data for this section is taken from their profile. This is to ensure that only one address is used for the learner for compliance purposes.
Why are learners unable to edit or complete questions in the Extended ILR step of onboarding?
This typically occurs when the learner's ILR status is QA Verified or Completed. The Extended ILR step is locked for editing when the ILR is in either of these states.
If the ILR status is anything other than QA Verified or Completed, the learner should be able to complete the Extended ILR step without any action required.
To unlock the Extended ILR:
Option 1 - Use QA Reject on the ILR
Navigate to the learner's ILR in Classic.
Select QA Reject. This triggers a tracker to be created.
In the tracker form, set the status to Excluded and keep the tracker status as New.
This reverts the ILR to Pending, allowing the learner to edit the Extended ILR.
Once the learner has made the necessary updates, close the tracker.
Proceed to QA Verify the ILR.
[screenshot: ILR QA Reject option in Classic]
Option 2 - Exclude from batch
A tutor can select Exclude from the batch on the ILR page. This changes the ILR status to Excluded, which unlocks the Extended ILR step for the learner to edit.
[screenshot: Exclude from batch option on the ILR page]
Alternatively, a tutor with the ILR QA role can enter the information on behalf of the learner using the Classic interface.