April 2021

Updates to National Insurance Number

We've made a few changes to simplify the management of the National Insurance Number:

Users Grid and Add/Edit User Forms

We have now added the National Insurance Number to both the add user and edit user forms. This is an optional field but simplifies entry if this is already known when creating the record.

We have and also made it searchable from the users grid in Aptem classic. The search requires an exact match.

Changes to User Generic Reports

For simplicity, we have consolidated the two National Insurance Number fields into a single field in the database. This means that you can now find the National Insurance Number under the personal details section of User Generic Reports (UGR).

Please note that existing UGR reports that contain the National Insurance Number will need to be updated with the new field and saved.

Changes to the OData API

The reduction to a single field will also impact any users using the OData APIs. The two existing fields:

Sub-programmes

Sub-programmes will provide the ability to manage learning plan content more easily. They allow you to separate learning plan content that may be used across multiple programmes such as Functional Skills. They will also make it significantly easier to manage variations in learning plan content due to prior achievement or based upon assessment results.

As an example, you will be able to create sub-programmes for each Maths and English delivery model you have. You will also be able to use sub-programmes to add optional qualifications to a learning plan only where needed.

This update will allow you to enrol learners onto sub-programmes that you have created.

Employer groups

Employer Groups provides a way to easily manage employers where they operate from multiple sites, contain a group of companies or are large enough to divide sites in some way such as by regional area. The feature allows you to mirror the employer’s reporting structure and provide visibility within the employer console based upon these groups. This allows the flexibility to provide the right level of access for progress reporting in a hierarchy which matches the employer’s understanding of the way they view their business. For example, this also proves particularly useful for scenarios where an employer has regional managers.

For more information see: Employer Groups.

Cognassist integration

We are pleased to announce the release of our integration with the Cognassist software. The integration will provide the following features:

• Create a learner in Cognassist
• Send a learner an invitation email to complete their assessment
• Provide status updates on assessment progress
• Return the results of an assessment upon completion

In a future release we will include:

• Ability to update Cognassist learner details where changes are made to Aptem learner information
• Surface Cognassist data in OData and User Generic Reports (UGR)
• Add an onboarding step to trigger the registration of the learner
• Display this feature in the Tutor console

For more information see: Integrating with Cognassist.

Improvements to the prior learning interface

In the March release we updated the way in which we capture prior learning so that we can make it easier for customers to identify prior achievement levels for learners. In this release a further update will be made that automatically calculates the prior attainment level and support in the identification of learner’s that are exempt from Functional Skills.

Work coach console

The new work coach console provides the ability for a work coach to easily manage their caseload of jobseekers. The console allows you to view and manage a jobseeker’s action plan, view their activity, and support them with developing their skills, identifying potential new roles and create and update their CVs.

For more information see: Product Briefing Series - New Work Coach Console and. You can refer to the documentation relating to the Work coach console here.

RPL Calculator

The "RPL calculator" provides a process to evidence adjustments to training price and programme duration in recognition of prior learning (RPL). The feature provides the ability for you to define an RPL policy and use Skills Radar assessments to provide automated adjustments inline with the RPL policy. The RPL calculator not only provides a clear evidence for adjustments but also automatically reflects the adjustment to training price in the learner's ILR TNP1 record.

The feature includes an approval process which can include one or two stages of review depending upon your standard business process. This ensures that you have complete control over changes made to your learners' data.

For more information see: RPL Calculator.

Minor Updates

• The "Create signature" facility on the user profile is now only available for the logged in user.
• It's now possible to define a custom list of cancellation reasons for tasks. These reasons display in a dropdown list when a task is rescheduled or cancelled with an additional "Other" option to allow for free text entry. If a list is not entered the free text box for capturing a reason will display as normal.
• We've updated the look and feel of our emails to reflect the Aptem brand
• We have introduced a new tool called "Scheduling assistant" into the reviews section. This is designed to help you with arranging a date/time for your reviews. Additional functionality will be added to this later next month.