Factito is a digital-first training provider within the Pensions Management Institute (PMI) Group and a PMI Accredited Training Partner. It uses Aptem Skills to deliver structured qualification training, make specialist pensions learning more accessible, and give employers clearer visibility of learner progress.
Background
Factito operates as the professional development arm of the PMI Group, delivering training aligned with the PMI’s pensions qualifications. Pensions qualifications are demanding, and many candidates study alongside full-time roles. The PMI’s qualifications and sector expertise provide a strong foundation. The opportunity for Factito was to complement that foundation with a consistent digital learning journey: breaking complex syllabuses into manageable stages, supporting learners through planned study, and giving employers a clearer view of engagement and progress.
For the PMI’s Award in Pensions Essentials (APE), access to supported provision had traditionally depended on an employer booking its staff onto a programme delivered by another large employer in the sector, or managing training in-house. That route served parts of the industry, but it created a practical dependency for organisations and individuals seeking a more direct option. Factito’s direct delivery model provides an alternative, broadening access to structured training aligned with the PMI’s qualifications.
The aim was not simply to place content online, but to connect learning materials, study plans, assessment and reporting so that learners could follow a clear route and employers could see and evidence progress.
100% pass rate
Learners on Factito’s first cohort for the PMI’s Certificate in Pensions Calculations (CPC) passed in the same examination sitting. The customer told Factito this was the first time an entire cohort it had entered had passed together.
We could have selected a platform that met only the immediate launch requirement, or one we already knew could grow with us. Our experience of Aptem gave us confidence that it could support both the programmes we needed on day one and the wider learning proposition we want to build.
Matt Knowles, Chief Training Officer, Factito
Selecting Aptem
Factito selected Aptem Skills on the strength of direct experience. Chief Training Officer Matt Knowles had used Aptem in previous roles, while Sales Director Daniel Jones had experienced the platform as a learner. Both understood how it worked in practice and could see how it might support Factito beyond its initial launch.
Sales Director Daniel Jones brought a different perspective, having used the platform as a learner himself: “Having experienced Aptem as a learner, I understood the value of a clear learning plan from the user’s perspective. I could also see what it could offer an L&D manager who needs one reliable view of progress rather than information spread across different systems.”
The implementation was thorough. Our consultant took time to understand the use case, worked out how it could be configured to our needs, and gave us templates we could follow and recreate for future customers.
Daniel Jones, Sales Director, Factito
Implementation
Factito’s requirements combined specialist SCORM-based learning content, modular programme structures, employer cohorts, individual learners, user portals and progress reporting. Aptem’s implementation team worked with Factito to turn that model into a practical configuration the team could reproduce as new customers came on board.
Factito also valued the accessibility of the support team and the emphasis on leaving the team able to manage the configuration for itself: “Support was practical and accessible. We could get on a call, work through a question together and then find a working example in the system, so we understood not only the answer but how to repeat it ourselves.”
Having used Aptem in earlier roles, Knowles also noted that ongoing product improvements had made day-to-day workflows quicker and easier.
Aptem Skills now supports Factito’s learning delivery and management, eLearning through SCORM, user portals, progress tracking and sub-programmes. Factito has used the sub-programme structure to create its CPD Library, and continues to refine these workflows as its offer develops. Aptem Skills provides the enabling infrastructure; Factito’s pensions expertise, learning design and learner support shape the experience.
The value is in giving learners a clear process: understand where they are, focus on the areas that need work and prepare consistently. Aptem helps us make that process visible and manageable.
Daniel Jones, Sales Director, Factito
3,000 enrolments
Factito’s target for enrolments on its programmes within its first two years.
Positive results demonstrate the impact of Aptem Skills
One of Factito’s early employer customers enrolled five learners on Factito’s training programme supporting the PMI’s Certificate in Pensions Calculations (CPC). All five passed in the same examination sitting. The customer told Factito that this was the first time a whole cohort it had entered had passed in a single sitting.
The customer also reported that Factito’s programme cost less than the external classroom provision it had previously used. For its L&D team, the combination of a whole-cohort pass, clearer progress information and a lower delivery cost created a strong case for the approach.
Daniel Jones said, “All five learners passed. The customer told us it had never had an entire cohort pass in the same sitting before, and the team was delighted.”
The impact for learners and managers
For learners, the value is structure. Programmes are broken into planned activities, with progress and assessment information helping learners understand what they have completed and where further focus may be useful.
In one example, a learner who had previously found a particular assessment challenging used the learning plan to revisit weaker areas and organise their preparation before another sitting. The learner went on to pass, illustrating how a visible, staged learning journey can support more focused preparation.
For L&D managers, Aptem Skills provides a single view of learner activity and progress. Managers can see what has been completed, identify where support may be needed, recognise progress, and maintain an auditable record of the organisation’s investment in development. This replaces multiple spreadsheets and gives managers a stronger basis for constructive conversations with learners.
“Instead of numerous different spreadsheets, the evidence is in one place: what learners have completed, how they are progressing and where support may be needed. There is real effectiveness in that data when it is used well.”
Daniel Jones, Sales Director, Factito
What’s next for Factito
Factito is aiming for 3,000 enrolments on its programmes within its first two years. Alongside qualification training, the team has created an initial CPD Library within Aptem Skills and is developing its approach to CPD tracking, skills mapping and management information.
Factito, along with the PMI, is also exploring additional sector-specific programmes, including potential McCloud-related training for public sector pensions, subject to market need and programme development.
The next phase is to complement the PMI’s qualifications, conferences and wider member activity with accessible digital learning that can continue between formal events. For the PMI’s approximately 10,000 members, this creates the potential for tracked online CPD that is easier to access, revisit and evidence over time.
Factito also plans to explore Aptem’s skills radar to help employers define relevant skills frameworks, understand development needs and target learning more effectively. These capabilities support Factito’s broader ambition to help pensions organisations move from recording attendance towards a clearer view of participation, understanding and progress.
The PMI has a clear objective to raise professional standards across the pensions sector. Through Factito, with Aptem Skills providing the enabling technology, we have a valuable opportunity to broaden access to structured learning and strengthen the Group’s wider professional development offer.
Gareth Tancred, CEO, PMI Group
Resources
Steve Willis
BMS Progress
