Since launching its apprenticeship provision in 2016, London South Bank University (LSBU) has grown to support more than 3,000 learners, a journey marked by innovation, strategic growth and a commitment to quality. Aptem has been central to the achievement of these goals.
How London South Bank University transformed apprenticeship delivery with Aptem
With apprenticeships identified as a strategic priority, LSBU sought a system that would not only streamline administrative processes but also enhance the experience for learners, tutors and employers. Aptem’s configurable platform delivered on these ambitions – enabling the university to refocus its apprenticeship team from time-consuming data tasks to strategic quality improvement and learner support.
Choosing a system aligned with strategic growth
As LSBU expanded its apprenticeship offerings, the need for a unified, reliable technology became clear. Led by Sammy Shummo, Group Director of Apprenticeships, the team evaluated multiple solutions before selecting Aptem in 2022, recognising it as the platform best suited to support the university’s objectives: enhancing user experience, reducing administrative workload, and providing better business intelligence.
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The onboarding process for apprentices could take up to five months before being able to access the online portal. With Aptem, they have access on day one of the programme.
“I have seen great examples of some apprentices who are ahead of where they should be on their training plan because they’re so engaged with it. It’s a million times better than our previous system.”
Sammy Shummo, Group Director of Apprenticeships
Expert-led implementation and change management
Given the scale of LSBU’s provision and its ambition to grow further, a successful implementation was essential. The university adopted a phased approach to rollout, validating the user experience through pilots before onboarding learners at scale. In just three months, 30 programmes were built in the platform and Aptem was ready for use. The first pilot began soon after, and by September 2022, 700 new apprentices had been onboarded. The next phase involved migrating 2,800 existing learners and their Individual Learner Records (ILR).
This comprehensive change management strategy – including training, stakeholder engagement and ongoing support – ensured that the transition to Aptem was smooth for apprentices, employers and staff alike.
“For me, the experience was great. We had weekly project calls, and our Implementation Consultant spent significant time meeting with us, sometimes more than twice a week, to keep things moving at pace.”
Sammy Shummo, Group Director of Apprenticeships
Enhancing learner, tutor and employer experience
Once Aptem was fully implemented, LSBU saw immediate improvements in the learner journey. The platform’s intuitive interface and consistent access to personalised learning plans fundamentally changed how apprentices engaged with their programmes.
From a learner perspective, Aptem eliminated frustration and disengagement linked to delayed system access. Now, apprentices can log in from day one, track their progress against Knowledge, Skills and Behaviours (KSBs), and communicate with tutors and employers in a centralised environment – a stark contrast to the fragmented tools used previously.
Engagement metrics back this up: LSBU now sees 90% of apprentices engage with the platform at least monthly, and a significant shift in learners being “on track or ahead” compared to historical performance.
To support adoption, LSBU introduced new roles focused on awareness and system training. Daily drop-in sessions for learners and regular sessions for employers ensure stakeholders never feel left behind, helping improve overall engagement and satisfaction with the apprenticeship experience.
Reducing administrative burden and driving value
One of the most transformational impacts of Aptem adoption at LSBU has been its effect on compliance and administrative work. Manual tasks such as completing training plans, apprenticeship agreements and initial assessments used to take hours of staff time, often involving multiple systems and manual record transfers. With Aptem, these tasks are now automated and consolidated within a single system.
The administrative savings are significant. Aptem is estimated to save LSBU between £150,000 and £200,000 per year in administration costs and time, funds that can now be redirected into quality assurance, learner support and innovation.
Notably, automation and process integration have also enhanced compliance confidence. With system-managed guardrails that ensure data is captured correctly and completely before progression, LSBU now has 100% confidence in onboarding compliance — a stark improvement over the previous manual workflows.
Real-time reporting and business insight
Another major advantage of Aptem for LSBU has been its reporting and business intelligence capabilities. Prior to Aptem, generating reports could take a day or more and involve multiple systems. Now, staff can produce comprehensive reports in minutes, including progress reviews, compliance metrics, funding details and forecasted achievement rates.
“Within less than two minutes I can pull a progress report and I can see every single apprentice, where they are at, what they are doing,” Shummo explains. “It’s been really transformative for us as an institution.”
These dashboards bring visibility to senior leadership – including Vice Chancellors and Deans – enabling data-driven decisions that support strategic priorities, resource allocation and quality improvement efforts. By surfacing real-time insights, the apprenticeship team can demonstrate value within the wider university context and secure investment aligned with organisational ambitions.
Instead of spending days and hours on a particular apprentice to get them through the onboarding process, we now literally can spend maybe an hour or two if the apprentices engage with that process – all in one system, all recorded in one place.
Sammy Shummo, Group Director of Apprenticeships
Supporting quality and future growth
LSBU sees Aptem as an essential part of its quality journey. The platform’s robust compliance, real-time reporting and engagement tracking capabilities directly align with best practice expectations from regulators and funders.
Looking ahead, LSBU plans to continue expanding its apprenticeship provision – particularly in areas such as business, built environment, health, engineering and sustainability – confident that the technology underpinning delivery can scale with its growth. “We see Aptem playing a huge role in that journey,” Shummo says.
Driving quality through technology and strategy
London South Bank University’s apprenticeship journey is a powerful example of how the right technology can unlock strategic value. By adopting Aptem, LSBU transformed its onboarding processes, enhanced experiences for learners and employers, reduced administrative burden, and gained real-time business insight – all while strengthening quality and compliance.
The success of this transformation lies not just in the platform itself, but in a thoughtful implementation strategy, ongoing support, and a clear organisational vision for quality. For providers seeking to scale their apprenticeship delivery without sacrificing quality, LSBU’s experience offers a compelling blueprint: integrate best-in-class technology with a strategic focus on engagement, insight and continuous improvement.
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Steve Willis
BMS Progress
