Apprenticeship Application Management

The project started with a familiar problem: processes spread too thin. Applications were tracked in spreadsheets, approvals lived in email chains, and third-party systems only covered the very first step. Admins spent too much time chasing statuses, providers lacked visibility, and there was not reliable history trail.

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‍During research, I mapped the full journey by interviewing training providers, admins, and staff. The stories were consistent: endless follow-ups, unclear responsibilities, and difficulty piecing together application histories when questions arose.

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Stay aligned, I set up regular stakeholder sessions. These became working checkpoints where we clarified integration needs, regulatory requirements, and a shared north star: visibility, accountability, and smoother collaboration.

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In ideation, I turned workshops into practical testing grounds. Providers and admins trialled early prototypes and gave immediate feedback. Their input shaped what mattered most: a unified dashboard, a clear history of every action, and smart alerts that cut through email clutter.

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As design moved into delivery, I wore both design and project lead hats. I finalised flows, refined UI in rapid iterations, and steered the work through sprints. I worked hand-in-hand with developers, supported QA, tracked progress, and kept the project on schedule.

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Launch wasn’t just a handoff. I created onboarding guides, delivered live training, and built a resource library so users could adopt the new features confidently and independently.

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The solution delivered a unified application process with clear action history, smart daily alerts, real-time updates, and notes to stay connected, replacing spreadsheets, emails, and blind spots with one streamlined platform.

The new system centralised the review and approval process for 1,200+ learners across 70+ training providers, cutting manual admin work by roughly 50%. Both admins and providers now benefit from real-time transparency, with instant access to live status updates and full application histories. Communication became faster and clearer, which sped up approvals and reduced delays, while in-platform notes and shared dashboards improved collaboration and kept everyone aligned. Alongside leading design, I also project managed delivery, running stakeholder sessions, steering agile sprints, and coordinating rollout to ensure the solution launched on time and with strong adoption. The impact was recognised nationally, earning a Bronze Award at the 2024 UK Learning Technologies Awards for Most Innovative New Learning Technologies Product.

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“With the new system, I can see each learner’s details and leave comments for transparency. I no longer have to chase employers or wait for forwarded emails.” 💬 Provider feedback

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Key Takeaways & Reflection

Direct collaboration with clients and end users, from requirements through to rollout, built trust and ensured the solution delivered measurable results at scale. Iterative prototyping and live workshops uncovered practical needs early, helping us accelerate delivery while meeting real-world challenges. Strong onboarding and a self-serve resource library empowered users to solve problems independently, ensuring adoption was smooth and sustained.

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