Securing funding for work-based learning “We’re very glad we made the decision to go with Destiny”SueAlvey,HeadofOperationalSupport,CornwallCollegeBusiness

The challenge: staying audit compliant with pressure on time

AswellasbeingoneofthelargestfurthereducationcollegesintheUK,with45,000studentsabletochoosefromover3,000differentcoursesacrosssevenmaincampussites,CornwallCollegeisalsotheleadingprovideroftrainingandeducationforbusinessintheSouthWest.Workinginpartnershipwithclientorganisationstodesigncustomisedtrainingtoimprovebusinessperformance,CornwallCollegeBusinessprovidesprofessionalqualificationsthroughcoursesandworkshopsforindividuals,departmentsorentirecompanies.Apprenticeshipsand“TraintoGain”aretwooftheCollege’smainbusinessprogrammes,withmorethan4,000studentsinvolvedintheseprogrammesatanyonetime.

GainingaccesstofundingtohelpsubsidisethecostofskillsdevelopmentisanimportantpartoftheCollege’sservicetoemployers.Buttobeabletodrawdownthisfunding,theCollegefacesthesamechallengeaseveryotherproviderofwork-basedlearning–thetaskofcompletingrecordsforeachindividuallearnerinanaccurate,timelyandcontrolledwaythatprovidestheevidenceforfullandauditablecompliance.Withfewercontractstogoround,higherminimumcontractvalues,outcome-basedpaymentsandthegeneraldemandtodelivermoreforless,thepressureonallwork-basedlearningprovidershasincreased.ButaccordingtoSueAlvey,HeadofOperationalSupportforCornwallCollegeBusiness,therealspurcamewhentheSkillsFundingAgencyrestrictedtotwomonthsthedeadlineforreportingnewsignups.

“Twomonthsmightsoundlikealongtime,”saysSue.“Butinpracticeitcanbealotless,anditgetseatenawayveryquickly.Historicallywe’vehadtokeylargevolumesofinformationintoourPellcompPICSmanagementinformationsystemmanually.Itbecameveryobviousthatweneededamuchlesstime-consumingandmoreefficientwayofinputtingourdatatosecurethefundingthat’scriticalforourclients.”

Tostarttheprocessofdesigningandprovidingtherightbusinesstraining,LiaisonOfficersorBusinessDevelopmentAdvisorsfromtheCollegegoouttovisitemployersandlearnerstobuildupafullpictureofwhattheyneed.Aftercarryingoutanassessmentandgivingadvice,theywriteoutanindividuallearningplanwhichalsoactsasthesignuppaperwork.Theythendropthispaperworkoffattheofficesomedayslater,whereit’smanuallychecked.Ifthere’saproblem,theymayneedtoreturntotheclienttoupdatetheformandgetanewsignature.OnlythencanthedatabemanuallyenteredintoPICSandtheapplicationmadeforfunding.

The solution: digital pen technology for quick and accurate recording

TheCollegehadpreviouslylookedatlaptopsasapossiblewayofrecordingandtransmit-tinginformationfromthefield,butreliable3Gnetworkcoverageprovedtobeabigstumblingblock.Anothermajorissuewastheauditrequirementforanoriginal“wetink”signature–effectivelyrulingoutotherformsofdatacapturetechnologylikelaptopsorPDAs.

Butthen,DestinydigitalpentechnologywasrecommendedtotheCollegebyEdexcel.Asexpertsinwork-basedlearningandthelargestawardingbodyintheUK,EdexcelprovideaccreditationformanyoftheCollege’scourses.

ThedecisionwasmadetopilottheuseofthedigitalpenfortheCollege’sTraintoGainprovisionwithtenLiaisonOfficersandBusinessDevelopmentAdvisors.OneofDestiny’sfirststepswastoworkwithSueAlveytoreviewtheexistingpaperworkandcreateanewdesignindigitalformfortheindividuallearningplan.Partofthisprocesswastomaketheformmoreintuitiveandeasiertocompleteusingacombinationoftextandtickboxes.ThedigitalpentechnologyalsoenabledmorecomprehensiveinformationtoberecordedonPICSthanhadbeenattemptedbeforeusingmanualinput.

Thepilotwasimplemented,startingoffwithaday’strainingprovidedbyDestiny.“Everythingwasexplainedreallywell,”saysSueAlvey.“Eventhoughthepensareveryeasytouseithelpedustohavetrialformstotestoutandseehowthey’recompleted,howtheinformationissentandwhatitlookslikewhenitisaccessedbytheadminteamforqualitychecking.”

ThenewprocessusingDestinytechnologyisthattheCollege’sbusinessdevelopmentadvisorsandliaisonofficerswriteouttheindividuallearningplansinthefieldasbefore,butnowusingdigitalpensandforms.Then,simplybytickingasendboxontheform,theelectronicdatafromthepenistransmittedviatheirBluetoothmobiledevicetoDestiny’ssecureservers,whereit’sconvertedfromhandwritingintotext.Lessthanaminutelaterit’savailableonDestiny’shostedonlineManageservice,wheretheCollege’sadminsupportteamcanreviewtheconvertedtextagainstapdfoftheoriginalhandwrittenform.

Ifanythingismissing,unclearorseemswrong,theadminteamcancalltheadvisorstraightawaywhilethey’restillwiththeclient–quicklysortingoutanyproblemandavoidingtheneedforareturntrip.Ifforanyreasontheformstillcan’tbevalidatedimmediately,itsitsinabeyanceina“workinprogress”file.Otherwise,ifallthedataisverifiedandaccurate,itthentransferstotheCollege’sownserverswhereitcanthentoautomaticallycreate

thenewlearnerrecordwithinthePICSmanagementinformationsystem,andtriggertheapplicationforfunding.

The results: no more manual entry, and a more disciplined approach

DestinydigitalpentechnologyhasreducedthetimeittakestocollectlearnerinformationandtransferittoPICSfromtwoorthreeweeksduringpeakperiodsdowntojustafewhours–cuttingoutunnecessaryadminandhugelyacceleratingthefundingapplicationprocess.Withverylittlechangetotheirpreviousworkpractices,advisorscanmakebetteruseoftheirtimeandreducetravelcostswithnoneedtoreturntotheofficetodropoffpaperwork.Dataqualityandmanagementinformationarebothgreatlyimproved.

“It’searlydays,”saysSueAlvey,“butwe’reverygladwemadethedecisiontogowithDestiny.Wherewe’rereallygainingandsavingtimeisthatthere’slittlemanualinputintothemanagementinformationsystembecausethedataistransferredautomatically.Italsohelpstoencourageamoredisciplinedapproachtoplanning,andgettingalltheinformationweneedfromemployersinanefficientway.Employersandlearnersalsolikeitastheyseethatweareusingup-to-datetechnologyinsupportofourworkwiththem.

“Oneofthemaintechnicaladvantagesofdigitalpensisthattheinformationtheycaptureiscompletelysafe.Ifanadvisorhappenstobeinanareawherethere’snonetworkcoverage,thedatastaysonthepenuntilitcanbetransmitted.Andifallelsefails,we’vealwaysgottheoriginalhandwrittenform.

“Asacompany,Destinyhavebeenveryresponsive.Theyunderstandtheenvironmentweworkinandthepressuresweface.They’vealwaysgoneasquicklyaswe’vewanted–answeringourquestions,beingopentosuggestionsandcomingupwithgoodwaysofresolvinganyissuestogether.They’vealsobeengoodatworkingwithPellcomptoensurethatthepensworkwithPICSinthemostefficientway.Andmostimportantly,they’vehelpedustostayauditcompliantanddowhatweneedtodotosecureourfunding.”

Basedonthesuccessofthepilot,theCollegeisnowrollingoutthenewsystemtothirtyLiaisonOfficerssupportingourapprenticeshipprogrammes,withthepossibilityofextendingitfurthertoothersitesinthefuture.

RonChampion,DirectorofCornwallCollegeBusiness,said:”I’mlookingforwardtorealisingthebenefitsofefficiencyandmoretimelymanagementinformation,butIalsohavehighexpectationsthatthistechnologywillhelpusgiveabetterservicetoourmostimportantcustomers,ouremployersandlearners”.

About destiny

destiny®istheregisteredtrademarkforDestinyWirelessplc,aworldleaderinthebusinessmarketforthedeliveryofmobileworkforcesolutions.destinyisaglobalPlatinumPartnerofAnotoGroupAB,oneofsevenintheworld.destinyownstheIPrightsoftheLogitechio2digitalpen,makingthemoneoftwodigitalpenmanufacturersintheworld.

destiny®enablesorganisationswithmobileworkforcestogetfastreturnsfromhightechnologyatlowcost,withlittleornotrainingorchangetoworkingpracticesandupfrontcapital.ThedestinydigitalpenisbasedonAnotoDigitalPenandPapertechnologyandreplacespaperworkdelaysandexpensivejourneysbacktotheofficewithaneasy-to-useandenergyefficientwayofcollectingaccurate,reliabledatafromthefieldandtransmittingitbacktobaseinseconds.

destiny’s®servicesincludedigitalpens;digitisedforms,mobiledevicesandweb-basedtoolsfortheefficientcollectionandmanagementofdatafromthefield,effectivejobpushandallocation,resourcemanagement,intelligentschedulingandassettracking.Formoreinformationpleasevisitwww.destinyplc.com

destiny’s®awardaccoladesincludes:EnvironmentalProductoftheYear2010withthedestinyio2digitalpen;2009OutstandingdevelopmentininformationtechnologyawardwithclientDSVRoad;DocuwarewinsBestPrivateSectorProjectoftheYearaward2009withthedestinydigitalpen;2007GrowingBusinessAwardsTechnologyinBusiness;Microsoft’sPeopleMovingBusiness,QualityinConstructionforExcellenceinICTandtheInformationAgeEffectiveITAward.EdwardBelgeonne,CEOandfounderofdestiny,isthenationalwinnerofErnstandYoung’sEntrepreneurofTheYearAwardfortheScienceandTechnology,2007.destinywasalsonominatedafinalistintheBCSITIndustryawardsfortheBestUseofGreenTechnologyProjectAwardinconjunctionwithAdvancedPeripheralSystems(APS).

About Anoto Group

AnotoGroupisthecompanybehindandworldleadingintheuniquetechnologyfordigitalpenandpaper,whichenablesfastandreliabletransmissionofhandwrittentextintoadigitalformat.Anotooperatesthroughaglobalpartnernetworkthatfocusesonuser-friendlyformsolutionsforefficientcapture,transmissionandstorageofdatawithindifferentbusinesssegments,e.g.healthcare,bankandfinance,transportandlogisticsandeducation.TheAnotoGrouphasaround110employees,officesinLund(headoffice),BostonandTokyo.TheAnotoshareislistedonNASDAQOMXNordicsmallcaplistundertheticketANOT.Formoreinformation:www.anoto.com