About us

Across the UK, Aptem is delighting training and employability providers, universities, colleges, tutors, assessors, employers and, most importantly, learners and jobseekers

We were founded in 2009

There are over 100 of us

Supporting nearly 200 customers

And 100,000 learners and jobseekers

We’ve won 12 major industry awards

We are ISO 27001 accredited (and 9001)

Our partnership approach

Aptem was created to produce innovative technology products that support the delivery of complex, regulated skills and employability programmes. We have a simple mission – to develop technology that helps people find rewarding work and enables them to equip themselves with the skills they need to progress.

Our partnership approach

We believe in a partnership approach, which is why our team is made up of industry experts who have worked in training providers, colleges, universities and employability providers. We have the set up you’d expect from any leading SaaS provider, including consultative business development, implementation, customer success and support, product, engineering and supporting business functions.

Trusted by

Expert support throughout your time with us

You can be confident that our Product team works collaboratively with your day-to-day Aptem contacts. We are privileged to have industry experts across Aptem, and we provide many opportunities to gain feedback and insights from customers.

Helping you to get started with Aptem

Our Business Development team is highly experienced in the skills and employability sector, each with a deep understanding of the challenges faced by mid-sized to large ITPs, employability providers, universities, colleges and employer providers. They will take you through the product, helping you to assess whether it’s right for your organisation.

Providing unrivalled sector expertise

You can be confident that our Product team works collaboratively with your day-to-day Aptem contacts. We are privileged to have industry experts across Aptem, and we provide many opportunities to gain feedback and insights from customers.

Personalised implementation

Each Aptem customer is supported by a dedicated team of Implementation Consultants, all of whom have a proven track record in implementing apprenticeship delivery systems. Feedback on the support during this critical implementation period is consistently glowing.

Supporting you post-implementation

Our Customer Success and Customer Support teams manage the relationship post-implementation. They have backgrounds in supporting SaaS technology products combined with industry experience. In addition, we hold regular product training sessions with our Product Team.

Helping you get the most from your data

Your analytics requirements are supported by our Data Analytics and Research team, led by Chartered Psychologist Mark Abrahams.

Opportunities to join the Aptem community

We facilitate a network of industry peers. Customers are invited to become members of our forums and roundtables to come together regularly to discuss industry issues, product updates, and advise each other on delivery of apprenticeships. We run regular consultations with customers, giving them a voice in our product development.

Our story

2010

MyWorkSearch was formed to provide a scalable technology solution addressing unemployment following the 2008 financial crash.

2015

MyWorkSearch was one of the largest SaaS employability programme delivery providers.

2016

As unemployment declined, we pivoted our technology into Apprenticeships, rebranding as MWS Technology.

2017

Aptem launched with our first client – Corndel, and soon grew to service colleges, universities and training providers.

2020

Due to Covid we relaunched MyWorkSearch as Aptem Employ, securing large government contracts.

2022

Aptem is the market-leading, apprenticeship end-to-end platform, used by nearly 200 customers and 100k learners.

2024

Aptem is driving greater efficiency and quality for its customers through adoption of AI and language technology.

The things that matter to us - our company values

Expertise

We commit to build our knowledge and skills for the benefit of our business and our customers

Impact

We are outcome-focused, collaborate effectively, and use our time wisely to maximise our impact

Accountability

We take personal responsibility and ownership for our decisions, actions and results

Excellence

Quality underpins everything we do; we strive for operational excellence

Respect

We foster inclusivity and treat others with empathy and consideration

Proactivity

We grasp hold of opportunities to improve things, even if they are not our direct responsibility

Our leaders

We have a management team that represents all areas of the business, backed by a Board:

Richard Alberg

FOUNDER & CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Richard is the founder and CEO of Aptem. Prior to Aptem, Richard founded Psychometric Services Ltd (PSL). PSL developed and published psychometric tests and was a pioneer in the field of online recruitment, integrating assessment with recruitment workflow software. The company was purchased by Kenexa, that was in turn acquired by IBM. Richard co-founded Corndel, a highly successful apprenticeship training provider, and is non-executive director of Protocol Holdings Ltd.

Yetunde Ayodele

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Yetty joined Aptem in 2020. She is a chartered global management accountant with over 15 years’ experience managing, digitalising, and transforming finance and reporting functions across various industries. Yetty has spent the last 10 years of her career using data as an enabler to drive finance decision-making to enhance business performance. Yetty heads our finance team.

David Devine

CHIEF SALES OFFICER

David joined Aptem in 2018, bringing with him a wealth of experience, leading business development teams in large corporates and startups selling HR technology. In addition, David has over 10 years working in professional bodies implementing Frameworks and Standards in large multinationals and central government.

James Love

CHIEF PRODUCT OFFICER

James leads the vision, strategy, and execution of innovative and scalable cloud-based technologies that empower education and employability providers to deliver better outcomes for learners and employers. He has over 15 years of experience in launching, growing, and maintaining market-leading B2B SaaS products for global scale-up and enterprise software development businesses.

Isla Lightfoot

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER

Isla joined Aptem in 2020, having previously consulted for brands including Nissan, Diageo, and HSBC. She developed and executed the marketing strategy for the largest change programme at Barclays, worked with Worldpay to set up their communications function and deliver their rebrand, and most recently set up the marketing function and rebranded Corndel. Isla holds a post-graduate with Distinction in Digital Marketing and is a member of the IDM. She is responsible for oversight and delivery of all marketing activities.

Rien Sach

DEPUTY CEO AND CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

Rien joined Aptem in 2022. Rien has a strong background in leading product development organisations in both VC and PE-backed companies, with a passion for building great products and creating empowered, motivated teams. Rien has a BSc in software engineering, a PhD in psychology and software engineering, and an Executive MBA.

Christine Weddell

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

Christine joined Aptem in 2020. She is a chartered accountant and has extensive experience in process improvement and providing outstanding client service. Christine spent 10 years at PwC and prior to Aptem worked at a high growth technology start up leading the implementation function and client onboarding process. Christine is responsible for overseeing all business operations at Aptem.

Isla Lightfoot

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER

Rien Sach

DEPUTY CEO AND CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

We're award winning and accredited

And we work with some fantastic organisations to deliver value beyond our products

Aptem news and events - get involved

We regularly host events and training, publish articles, white papers and eBooks, and commission research. Have a browse and get involved:

Events
Training
Resources

Thought leadership webinars

Navigating challenges in apprenticeship systems: Enrolment dropouts, administrative hurdles, and rigid review procedures

Thursday 2 May | 11am – 11.30am | Register here

Join us for a fast-paced webinar that dives into the thorny challenges of apprenticeship delivery and learn how Aptem is designed to help you succeed. Our expert panel comprises former heads of apprenticeships; each of whom has walked in your shoes. They understand both the demands of the sector and the varying capability of apprenticeship management systems on the market.

In-person events

Aptem Higher Education Forum meeting – for HE customers
Wednesday 8 May 2024 | Staffordshire University

Our next in-person Aptem HE Forum meeting will take place on 8 May at Staffordshire University. This is an opportunity for you to meet with the Aptem team, hear from our guest speaker, participate in Aptem best practice workshops, and network with your HE peers. Aptem HE Forum members should look out for an email invitation, or please ask your Customer Success Manager for details.

FIN Bootcamp – Ofsted inspection preparation
Tuesday and Wednesday | 14-15 May 2024

Sponsored by Aptem, this programme is a unique, fast-paced and challenging two-day residential programme that will provide real insight into the education inspection framework, challenge perceptions and test resilience. This stimulating, inspiring and thought provoking course has proved highly effective to fully prepare nominees for their role.

Product briefing webinars

Customers will be invited to these training sessions via email.

Aptem Masterclass: Making use of Power BI reports
Tuesday 30 April 2024 | 11am – 12pm

Aptem Basics: ePortfolio & using Aptem to prepare for EPA
Tuesday 14 May 2024 | 11am – 12pm

Aptem Masterclass: Making best use of Reviews functionality
Tuesday 18 June 2024 | 11am – 12pm

Aptem Masterclass: Deep-dive of the Funding Dashboard
Tuesday 2 July 2024 | 11am – 12pm

Training providers, universities, colleges, employers and employability providers tell us they value our industry expertise and insight.

Here is some recent content that you might find of interest:

See all our articles here.

Latest eBook

Using Aptem to inform your Self-Assessment Report (SAR)

Read eBook

Latest white paper

How Independent Training Providers (ITPs) can survive and thrive in an inflationary market

Read white paper

Previous white paper

Overcoming resistance to change: implementing new technology

Read white paper

Aptem Intelligence Dashboard

We have created a free dashboarding tool that makes it easy for apprenticeship providers to analyse trends, see offerings gaps, produce competitor analysis, and make data-driven strategic decisions from the ESFA data.

Access the Aptem Intelligence Dashboard here.

Latest case study: Lifetime Training

Hear how the successful switch to Aptem is enabling the UK’s largest Independent Training Provider, Lifetime Training, to put its 17,000 learners at the heart of its apprenticeship provision, while realising valuable productivity improvements across the business.

Read case study

We'd love to hear from you

The best way to experience our platform is through a consultative chat with one of our friendly experts. They can take you through the system and show you the benefits of Aptem that are most relevant to your business.