Implementation is one of the things we’re most proud of. Customers consistently tell us it’s better than they expected – here’s why.
Our process is underpinned by quality and expertise, with a clear focus on ensuring that customers receive value from the system as soon as possible. Customers can have live learners on the platform from one week to one month after the start of the implementation, allowing them to quickly realise the benefits of Aptem Apprentice.
This article sets out what Aptem’s implementation process looks like in practice: what is included, what determines the timeline, and what providers say about going through it.
Deep sector knowledge from day one
Apprenticeship delivery is complicated. Funding rules change. ILR requirements are exacting. Compliance margins are tight. An implementation team that does not understand these pressures cannot configure a platform that reflects them.
Aptem’s implementation consultants work exclusively in the apprenticeship and skills sector, many of them joining us after working in delivery. That means they understand the operational realities providers face before the first configuration conversation begins: how compliance monitoring needs to work, how data flows to the ILR, how employer relationships are structured, and how tutors and administrators use a system day to day.
This depth of sector knowledge shapes every stage of implementation. It informs how the platform is configured, what workflows are built, and what each team needs to understand to use the system well from day one.
Nottingham Trent University, voted the number one university provider of degree apprenticeships in the UK for 2024, found this approach made a material difference:
“We’ve dealt with vendors in the past whose Implementation Consultants sit on the sidelines, passively. This was definitely not our experience with Aptem. The Implementation Consultants were great.”
Christopher de-Vos, Solution Architect, Nottingham Trent University
The university also noted that the active, collaborative approach extended to technically complex work:
“The collaboration with Aptem’s implementation and technical consultants and the proactive approach taken by Nottingham Trent University ensured a seamless and successful student records system integration.”
Callum Elliott, Project Manager, Nottingham Trent University
Configured to fit the way you work
Aptem’s implementation begins with a structured discovery phase: mapping your workflows, understanding your data structures, and identifying how your employer relationships and compliance processes need to be reflected in the system. Every configuration decision is made in that context. The result is a platform that works the way your team actually works – not a generic setup you spend months adjusting after go-live.
Bradford College, which moved to Aptem from fragmented legacy systems, found that the implementation surfaced capability they had not anticipated:
“Aptem has removed these challenges for us, and we’ve benefited from other things that we weren’t even aware would be valuable to us when we were thinking of procuring an end-to-end system.”
Dominic Scott, CRM/LMS Officer, Bradford College
Staff training that empowers your whole team
The intensive support from Aptem doesn’t stop the day customers go live. Our implementation process includes role-specific training for every team that will use the platform – built around the configuration that has been set up for your organisation, not a generic walkthrough of product features. Administrators, tutors, and operational team leaders each receive training relevant to their role.
The result is a team that can use the platform confidently, rather than one that spends the first months after launch working out how things fit together. Bradford College described the difference this made to their compliance and data processes:
“When we first started using Aptem, we were not using trackers and realised people sometimes forgot to do certain things like closing down aims, creating inconsistencies in data correlation. Since we started utilising automation trackers, it has been a massive help. It saves a lot of time and ensures everything is done correctly and that we haven’t missed anything. The data we report on is now accurate and as it should be.”
Dominic Scott, CRM/LMS Officer, Bradford College
Hawk Training, a Grade 1 Outstanding independent training provider, found that the same quality of engagement with the platform unlocked significant operational gains:
“Aptem Apprentice is supporting us to change our practice and the way we’re doing things, not the other way around. With Aptem, there is genuine alignment between our values and shared goals.”
Vanessa Jones, Operations Director, Hawk Training
Ready to grow with your ambitions
For providers with ambitious growth plans, implementation must account for what the organisation will look like in two or three years, not just today. A system that works for 200 learners but struggles at 2,000 will not serve you long term.
Aptem’s platform is built to scale. Corndel onboarded 900 learners in a single month, September 2022, and required a system that could automate bulk account creation and manage that volume without manual intervention. The implementation was configured to support that reality.
Corndel’s Director of Learning Technology put it plainly:
“We needed a system that is agile and a team behind it that can react quickly.”
Richard Bridge, Director of Learning Technology, Corndel
Pearson TQ, which delivers apprenticeships to NHS workers, defence industry employees, and corporate sector learners, found that the platform’s breadth transformed what they could offer:
“We are now able to deliver a high-end product and service that’s in line with what our employers and our apprentices expect to see.”
Neil Saunders, Senior Quality Manager, Pearson TQ
Support and learning that continue beyond go-live
Implementation is where the relationship starts. Once a provider is live, every Aptem customer is assigned a dedicated Customer Success Manager who provides ongoing support, helps with configuration changes as requirements evolve, and ensures providers are getting full value from the platform. This is not a generic helpdesk. It is a named contact with sector knowledge who understands your setup.
The Aptem community resources within Aptem Apprentice include help resources available within the platform itself and regularly updated training content. New team members can onboard using Aptem community resources without requiring dedicated training sessions, and all users can keep pace with new features as they are released. It shortens ramp-up time for new starters and removes the knowledge gaps that build up over time when a team grows faster than its training provision.
Bradford College reflected on why they will stay with Aptem long term:
“The reason we will stay with Aptem is because they have demonstrated their ability to keep pace with our ambitions. They are committed to maintaining a best-in-class product, delivering regular updates, and they continue to develop new products and enhancements that support us more broadly than just apprenticeships.”
Dominic Scott, CRM/LMS Officer, Bradford College
The outcome: a team that hits the ground running
Done well, implementation is not just a technical go live. It is the point at which a provider’s processes are re-examined, their data practices are tightened, and their teams are equipped to deliver to a higher standard than before.
Aptem’s implementation approach brings sector expertise, a genuinely personalised configuration, and structured training together with the ongoing support and learning resources to sustain it. The result is an organisation that hits the ground running and continues to build capability over time.
If you’re evaluating platforms and want to understand what implementation would look like for your organisation, speak to our team. Book a demo and we’ll walk you through the process in the context of how you deliver.
Frequently asked questions
What does Aptem’s implementation process include?
Aptem’s implementation covers initial platform configuration tailored to your organisation’s workflows, data structures, and programme types; integration with third-party systems such as student records systems where required; and structured, role-specific staff training so every team member is confident from go-live. A dedicated implementation consultant works with you throughout, bringing apprenticeship sector expertise to every stage of the process.
How long does Aptem implementation take?
Providers with straightforward configurations typically go live within a few weeks; those with complex integrations or data migration typically complete implementation within a few months. Aptem agrees a realistic programme plan at the outset.
Does Aptem provide training for my team?
Yes. Structured training is part of every Aptem implementation, shaped around each team’s specific roles and the configuration built for your organisation. Beyond implementation, Aptem community provides an ongoing library of training resources, release updates, and the opportunity to contribute to the roadmap. New starters can onboard through Aptem resources and community without requiring dedicated sessions, and all users can keep pace with new features as they are released.
What support is available after go-live?
Every Aptem customer has access to a dedicated customer success team, who provide ongoing support, help with configuration changes as your requirements evolve, and ensure you are making the most of the platform. Aptem community supplements this with self-serve training content aligned to specific roles within the platform, product updates, and a network of peers across the sector.
Can Aptem integrate with our existing systems?
Yes. Aptem supports integration with a range of third-party systems, including student records systems, HR platforms, and single sign-on providers. Integration requirements are scoped as part of the implementation planning process, and Aptem’s technical consultants support your team to deliver them. Nottingham Trent University, for example, completed a student records system integration as part of their implementation, describing the process as seamless.
We are currently using a different apprenticeship management system. How does Aptem handle migration?
Aptem’s implementation team has extensive experience working with providers migrating from other systems. Data migration, configuration, and staff transition are all planned and managed as part of the implementation programme, with continuity of learner records and compliance data as a primary concern throughout.
