Having easily digestible, visualised data is essential for turning business insights into action. With Aptem’s extensive OData fields, combined with its built-in dashboards and user-generated report capabilities, providers have a rich array of opportunities to place data-driven insights at the heart of their business strategies. 

In this Q&A, Katie Kiernander, founder of data insight consultancy Kaimetrics, leverages her extensive experience as a data analyst in the apprenticeship sector to provide valuable advice on developing an effective strategy for collecting business insights.

How would you assess the maturity of data insights within the apprenticeship sector? 

I think the apprenticeship sector is increasingly recognising the value of data insight. It is vital for monitoring the progress of apprentices, identifying areas for improvement and celebrating successes. Data analytics tools, like Power BI, can streamline processes and improve operational efficiency. It means teams spend less time on administrative tasks and more time supporting learners and improving their learning experience.  

From your experience as an Aptem customer and now a data analyst consultant, how does the Aptem system facilitate an advanced approach to business insights? 

Aptem has a wealth of information in its database. It’s great to have data in all one place that you can then extract using OData. It means everyone is looking at the same data, in the same format, and you’re not spending time reconciling between spreadsheets. You can create controls in Power BI to quickly check for data errors, ensuring the data is accurate. Additionally, you can customise your report formats to get real-time insights quickly in a user-friendly format. 

What guidance would you offer providers on taking a strategic approach to gathering business intelligence? 

1. First, it’s essential to define clear objectives about what you want to achieve, whether it is reducing administration time or measuring performance against KPIs.
2. Next, centralising data sources is crucial. This reduces the risk of data being manually entered into multiple spreadsheets and ensures your data is consistent. Tools like OData can then help in extracting and integrating data from various sources.
3. Investing in the right tools is also important. Using robust data analytics tools such as Power BI can help analyse and visualise data, creating dashboards that provide real-time insights.
4. Ensuring data quality is another key aspect. Implementing controls to check for data accuracy and completeness and regularly cleaning and validating your data, maintains its integrity. Accurate data is crucial for reliable insights.
5. Focusing on user-friendly visualisations is essential. Designing reports and dashboards with the end-user in mind, using intuitive and easy-to-understand visualisations, caters to different levels of data literacy within your organisation.
6. Encouraging a data-driven culture is important as well. Involve your team in the process and train them on how to use the tools and interpret data insights. Foster a culture where data is valued and used in decision-making processes, encouraging staff to rely on data insights rather than intuition alone.
7. Finally, continue to seek feedback from users of your data insights. This helps understand their needs and improve your reporting, ensuring that your insights remain relevant and actionable. 

Are there often overlooked data insights that could offer significant benefits to providers? 

Using Aptem’s custom fields feature, you can collect detailed information about withdrawal reasons. This allows you to identify which reasons are within your control and take appropriate action. You can track when learners withdraw from specific programmes and identify trends, enabling you to make targeted improvements to your curriculum at critical points. 

Being able to evidence that learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities (LLDD) are progressing as well as those without is crucial for ensuring equity in education. By systematically tracking and analysing performance data, providers can demonstrate that LLDD learners are achieving comparable outcomes. Additionally, regular reviews and adjustments to teaching strategies can help address any gaps, ensuring that all learners receive the support they need to succeed. This evidence not only highlights the effectiveness of inclusive practices but also reinforces the commitment to providing high-quality education for every learner. 

What inspired you to dedicate your efforts to helping apprenticeship providers maximise the use of their data? 

I was lucky to work for a training provider who shared my passion for continuous improvement and encouraged my personal development. They supported me when I applied for my CIMA Fellowship and suggested I study the Data Analyst apprenticeship. I’ve always loved numbers, but the apprenticeship sparked a new interest in developing data tools. I started using Power BI with Aptem OData and developed some dashboards that changed the way the team could manage the provision. Seeing the positive impact, I realised I wanted to support others in the same way, so I took the big step to set up Kaimetrics.  

Can you describe some of the projects you have been working on?  

I recently developed operational and strategic dashboards that can be used in any Aptem tenant, in collaboration with David Lockhart-Hawkins. These dashboards provide a comprehensive view of key metrics for each learner in one place, including OTJ hours, learning plan components progress, engagement and participation. Additionally, you can set parameters for KPIs to measure success effectively. These dashboards highlight areas for improvement, allowing for early action to avoid non-compliance. One of my favourite features is the ability to calculate when progress reviews are due for each learner, enabling managers to proactively ensure compliance with the funding rules.  

I also recently worked on a project to develop a dashboard to extract all the learning plan components and calculate the percentage completed on time by month. This saved two days a month of administrative time and allowed leaders to manage caseloads more effectively. 

What lessons have you learned over the course of your data analytics journey? 

I’ve learned that simplicity is key. If there is too much data or charts are too busy, users won’t get the insights they need quickly. Whenever I design a chart, I always consider what action the user will take next, now they have that information to guide them. It’s vital to choose the right type of chart for the type of data being presented, as this can greatly improve understanding and usability. 

People have different levels of data literacy, so it’s important to take that into account and make the dashboards as intuitive as possible. And finally, getting feedback from users ensures the visualisations meet their needs, they feel confident using the dashboards, and get true business value from them. 

Further information: 

Drive better choices with rich insights. Aptem’s apprenticeship data management system has built-in Power BI dashboards, OData for extraction, and User Generated Reports for bespoke reporting. Find out more.