Impact Futures are one of the UK’s leading apprenticeship and workforce development providers. It has undergone a digital transformation by implementing Aptem’s end‑to‑end platform. Supporting over 7,000 learners and 650+ employer partners, Impact Futures has leveraged Aptem to drive growth, enhance quality and deliver an outstanding experience for learners and employers alike.
This summary gives an overview of the operational and strategic impact of Aptem on Impact Futures’ delivery model, culture and outcomes. For detailed insights, read the full case study.
Overview
Impact Futures Group, including The Childcare Company and First Response First Aid, is reshaping the UK’s workforce. They offer high‑quality apprenticeship and upskilling programmes. Supporting over 7,000 learners and more than 650 employer partners nationwide, Impact Futures is driven by a vision of sector leadership, outstanding learner experiences and continued growth. To achieve these ambitious goals, the team recognised the need for a scalable, integrated technology solution. So, they chose Aptem as the foundation for their transformation.
The challenge – breaking down barriers to scale
Rapid organisational growth brought increasing operational challenges. Previously, Impact Futures relied on a patchwork of systems for different functions. They use PICS for ILR data, onboarding and compliance, Smart Assessor for ePortfolio, plus BKSB, Cognassist and more. This fragmented setup created manual data entry, duplicated efforts and admin‑heavy processes. It slowed down onboarding and resulted in inconsistent journeys for learners and employers. With complex requirements across childcare and healthcare sectors, the legacy systems simply could not keep up.
Why Aptem? What changed
After a competitive review, Impact Futures adopted Aptem as a single, end‑to‑end platform. Aptem technology supports onboarding, compliance, ePortfolio, data management and integration with CRM. The move was transformative:
- A single source of robust, real-time data underpins decisions and compliance.
- Staff now focus on value-adding analysis instead of chasing spreadsheets.
- Integration delivers seamless processes and reduces manual errors.
- Aptem’s customisable approach aligns with Impact Futures’ strategy of continuous improvement.
Empowering stakeholders
The changes have been widely felt:
- Employers enjoy instant access to live progress dashboards and manage hundreds of learners with ease.
- Development Coaches have more time for real learner support with reduced admin.
- Learners benefit from clear, flexible learning plans and AI-powered support tools that keep them on track.
- Compliance and quality teams see reliable audit-ready records and are prepared for future regulatory changes.
Driving innovation with technology and AI
Technology is at the heart of Impact Futures’ strategy. As early adopters of Aptem’s integrated AI tools – such as a virtual assistant and the ‘checkpoint’ progress tracker – the organisation has delivered a step‑change in learner engagement and review quality. New features, including AI-driven review summaries and seamless Microsoft Teams integration, save up to 30 minutes of admin per review and enable richer, more responsive support for learners.
Planning for success
Feedback from learners and staff has directly shaped the new digital delivery model, which offers ‘any place, any time’ access to learning. Aptem serves as the central communications hub. It supports flexible and personalised learning journeys that drive up learner satisfaction, increase engagement and reduce out‑of‑funding learner rates.
Partnership and change management
Impact Futures invested in hands‑on staff support throughout the change process. It hosts regular Q&A sessions, workshops and close engagement with the Aptem team. This partnership approach has accelerated innovation and ensured a smooth transition to the new system.
Operational impact
- ‘Lead to start’ onboarding times have reduced from 31 days to 9.4 days.
- Review processes now save 15‑30 minutes per learner.
- Learner satisfaction has improved significantly within just weeks of launching the new model.
- Employers enjoy improved transparency and self‑serve access to reporting.
- Compliance, audit readiness and data reliability have all further improved.
What’s next?
Impact Futures will continue their technology‑led transformation, supporting further growth, inclusive learning and continued sector leadership. With Aptem as a strategic partner, the organisation is well‑placed to deliver outstanding outcomes for Britain’s critical service sectors – today and into the future.
Ready to move from admin to impact? Digital transformation is enabling apprenticeship providers to accelerate growth, meet sector challenges and deliver superior results for learners and employers.
To find out how Aptem can help you, visit www.aptem.co.uk.
For more on Impact Futures’ journey, read the full case study.
