Written by Russell Edwards, Account Director at Aptem
Adoption of AI tools is set to impact every team and department in your organisation. Across the sector, we’re observing pockets of usage, with variable outcomes. This article draws on conversations with multiple apprenticeship providers, to offer a reminder of why an AI strategy matters to senior leadership teams.
Five ways that AI tools, specifically large language models, are supporting strategy
1. Achieve market differentiation and competitive edge
At Aptem, we have always believed that technology should be a tool that enables you to deliver apprenticeships and vocational training in your unique way. In every customer conversation, we see nuanced approaches to attracting and onboarding learners, programme delivery and business development.
You want your unique provision to stand out to your current and future employer partners. Those employers want to feel confident that you are not only well positioned to deliver high quality development for their employees, but also that you are using their Levy wisely. Only by investing in tools that automate apprenticeship admin will you be able to show them that you are laser focused on deploying your people to do what they do best; teach and coach. Demonstrating your forward-thinking approach to technology in apprenticeships can be a key selling point to attract high-value employer partnerships and increase market share in a competitive landscape.
2. Strengthen brand loyalty and trust through a strategic commitment to learner success
Your current and prospective customers have access to a plethora of Government data about your organisation. This information includes apprenticeship starts, completions, and withdrawals, all broken down by demographic details such as age, gender, and region. Demonstrating how you effectively guide learners through high-quality programmes – and showcasing your unwavering commitment to this process, is critical. Employers need to witness their employees thrive, see tangible value in apprenticeships, and feel confident enough to entrust you with their workforce development. However, numerous barriers to progress, familiar to us all, often stand in the way.
Senior leaders of apprenticeship providers are exploring an AI strategy. They want to know how the latest technology can drive efforts to engage, support, and retain learners. This approach goes beyond incorporating technology into learning delivery. It empowers colleagues to identify innovative methods to facilitate learner progress at every stage. These tools consistently assess learner understanding, simplify the demonstration of learning application, and enable providers to refine or completely transform processes such as reviews, ensuring time is spent wisely and learner progress remains the top priority. This systematic use of technology relentlessly advances the learner progress agenda.
3. Scalability and growth
Navigating growth in a fixed-price market, amidst the financial strains of recent inflation, presents a significant and ongoing challenge. However, an AI strategy may offer a timely and potentially game-changing solution that the sector has long needed. One provider recently announced that by adopting AI tools, they expect their tutor caseloads to nearly double. They predict reaching around 70 learners per tutor. The ability to take on more learners without compromising quality or increasing headcount hinges on the adoption of transformative tools like automated marking aids that handle repetitive tasks.
We believe the true impact of such tools will be realised when they are used in conjunction with one another. This might include virtual assistant support for learners that links to automated progress tracking and targeted learning recommendations, feedback assistants to prompt timely tutor interventions for maximum impact, and administrative tools that automate various touchpoints in the apprenticeship journey. These combined AI solutions are set to streamline administrative burdens for apprenticeship providers. An AI strategy allows tutors to support more learners without losing the focus on enhancing learning outcomes and personalised support.
In boardrooms across the sector, this technology is sparking discussions on strategic business development. It is offering initiatives to partner with more employers for workforce training and an expansion into new sectors. An AI strategy is a welcomed relief as it offers a viable solution to current growth-limiting resourcing challenges.
4. Financial performance
From a financial perspective, your senior leadership team will likely be aiming to reduce the cost per apprentice. Amid the well-documented low productivity levels in the UK, there is growing optimism that AI adoption can lead to a significant productivity leap. The expectation is that AI will streamline processes across the entire apprenticeship lifecycle. An AI strategy will enable teams to work more efficiently. Ultimately, it’ll lower the overall cost of guiding a learner from onboarding to their End-Point Assessment (EPA). This enhanced efficiency is expected to directly improve the bottom line, converting financially stagnant or loss-making programmes into profitable operations.
The cumulative impact of leveraging technology, including AI, to enhance efficiency at each stage of the learner journey is substantial. From streamlined eligibility checks and personalised, engaging apprentice onboarding to consistent, high-quality tutor support that reduces dropout rates and keeps learners on track, the result is a lower cost per learner. The potential of technology to play a transformative role is exciting, especially when considering how measurable these improvements are. By focusing on the cost to your business of successfully guiding each learner through the programme, you can clearly see the financial benefits of these technological advancements.
Beyond the initial investment, the long-term cost savings in staffing, administration, and programme delivery can be substantial. This positions you for sustainable profitability in an increasingly challenging funding environment.
5. Staff retention and development
AI tools alleviate many routine tasks, allowing your valuable staff to focus on high-impact activities. This not only improves job satisfaction and retention but also enables your team to upskill, adding further value to your organisation.
For apprenticeship providers, their greatest asset is their people. However, many are grappling with overworked tutors who are entangled in the administrative complexities of apprenticeship delivery. As a result, tutors often find themselves with insufficient time to focus on their core mission: sharing their expertise to coach and develop apprentices.
We have observed a significant shift since AI first made its way into our daily lives. Initially, many people feared that AI would replace tutor jobs, despite senior leadership recognising its strategic benefits. This created a disconnect between the leadership and those on the front lines. However, we are pleased to see this changing. Tutors are now beginning to recognise how this new technology can support them. A proper AI strategy enables them to deliver greater value to their organisations. It also simplifies their day-to-day roles by reducing administrative work and repetitive tasks.
How AI adoption is becoming a reality for apprenticeship providers using Aptem
Throughout 2024, Aptem has been progressively embedding new AI-powered features, called Aptem Enhance, into our apprenticeship management platform. We took the decision early on to invest heavily in this capability, and we are delighted to see that our customers are embracing it with enthusiasm. They benefit from our in-system tools that are contextualised and within the day-to-day workflow for learners and tutors.
Our customers, and those who are not yet using Aptem, are naturally eager to understand the potential impact of this functionality. Such as how much time tutors could save on marking and writing up reviews, or how many more learners they could take on if there were a reduction in unfunded PPED activity.
With our Aptem Enhance savings calculator you can input your learner start volumes and funding figures to generate an estimated funding value per learner per month. This data is combined with other industry-standard benchmarking data (or you can add your own) to demonstrate anticipated efficiency gains from each AI-driven feature.
“The features proposed are absolutely brilliant and align with exactly what our coaches and admin staff have been feedbacking on to enhance productivity.” From the Aptem Enhance Customer Consultation Survey 2024.
Next steps
Find out more about Aptem Enhance online. Or, arrange a call to explore how our AI features could fit within your workflows and processes.
We are rolling out new features each quarter, in line with our published development roadmap. Find out more about our virtual assistant, progress monitoring tool, Checkpoint, review summarisation, marking aid and more. Now is the time to get on board and see the benefits of in-system AI tools come to fruition.
