PICS
The market-leading LMS for apprenticeship providers
If you are delivering apprenticeships, it is crucial to have robust digital solutions that allow you and your team to focus on what matters – delivering quality education and training.As the market-leading LMS for apprenticeships, PICS serves as the digital backbone of your organisation, keeping all your data and processes in one place. With this intuitive and sophisticated solution, you can relieve your staff of unnecessary data entry and other administrative burdens.
PICS is used by organisations delivering apprenticeships and other ILR-based programmes.
With ESFA-compliant data, a range of automations, custom reporting and more, PICS allows you to maximise operational efficiency and take the stress out of ILR submission. No matter the size of your organisation or scale of your delivery, PICS promises improvements to providers from day one.
We understand and solve your key issues
We build products which are designed to solve our customers key challenges
- High Admin Costs
Disjointed systems that do not provide a robust and comprehensive data pipeline, ultimately resulting in double keying of data and laborious data management process.
- Inaccurate and untimely ILR data
ILR data that is inaccurate or untimely provides a misleading representation of the business and reduces your funding potential.
- Unable to make data driven decisions
A lack of clear, consistent & accurate data in an easy-to-use reporting mechanism obfuscates decision making.
- Difficulty in satisfying audit & Ofsted
Without a single secure and reliable repository of data, backed by a robust process and auditing capabilities, gaps may only be identified at audit.
See how we can help Key capabilities
Learner Management 
ILR Compliance
Applicant Onboarding
Employer Engagement
Funding Calculator
Flexible Reporting
ESFA report reconciliation
Automation and workflows
CAPABILITIES
More than just an LMS
Find out more about the powerful features that sit within PICS
ILR
Robust ILR management
With ESFA-compliant data, a range of automations, custom reporting and more, PICS allows you to maximise operational efficiency and take the stress out of ILR submission. No matter the size of your organisation or scale of your delivery, PICS promises improvements to providers from day one.
Compliant Data Capture
The learner record sits at the heart of PICS as the central location for all learner data. Say goodbye to multiple spreadsheets with comprehensive learner data capture.
- Learner Records
- Record all the data needed for the ILR in a dedicated tab.
- Schedule appointments, reviews and more from the learner record.
- Track qualification progress from the delivery plan.
- Funding & Monitoring
- Ensure you don’t miss out on any additional funding with dedicated FAM fields.
- Record your own custom monitoring for internal use.
- Manage and process learner payments individually and in bulk.
Inbuilt Learner Validation
Don’t wait for month-end to identify any issues – our validation and risk tools help you stay on top of your data throughout the month and reduce learner attrition.
- Validate Learners
- PICS validation is kept up to date with ESFA specifications for the current year.
- Validation data is available for filtering and reporting, helping you identify issues at a glance.
- Identify Risks
- Use risk labels to clearly identify learners that need attention.
- Analyse risk by site, programme, tutor and more.
Instant ILR Exports
Manage submission with ease using the inbuilt ILR exporter. All relevant ILR data for your learners will be included in the output file, compatible with ESFA submission specifications.
- Choose your cohort
- Create an ILR for a specified cohort of learners, sorted by site, UKPRN or more.
- Manage complex funding arrangements with ease with full support for head office and subcontractor exports.
- Additional Exports
- Export an Earnings Adjustment Statement for any amendments to your funding history.
- Record supplementary data items for ESF contracting and produce a data export file from PICS.
Employer Engagement
Employer and vacancy CRM
PICS provides a robust employer engagement pipeline, supporting your sales team to smoothly onboard new business for your organisations. Features include online lead capture, opportunity tracking, digital contracting and more.
Organisation Management
Record new leads and current employers with PICS organisation management. Organisation data is connected to learner, applicant, and vacancy data, providing a smooth engagement pipeline.
- Organisation Records
- Full data capture for contact details, provision information, communication logging and more.
- Upload files and other paperwork for easy access and efficient auditing.
- Support for custom roles and relationships with staff members and other organisations.
- Financial Management
- Record and process payments against each organisation.
- Set up contract agreements with each organisation to be used in funding calculations.
Vacancies & Opportunities
Help your apprentices get the best placements with our vacancy matching process. PICS vacancies work with opportunity records to help you make the most of any leads.
- Vacancy Matching
- Search geographically using the map interface or filter by sector and occupation codes.
- Link vacancy data to learner and applicant records for easy application tracking.
- Connections with third-party vacancy feeds for up-to-date information.
- Opportunity Tracking
- Record opportunities against vacancies and other leads.
- Track opportunities through custom workflows to won or lost outcomes.
- Report on opportunities and outcomes for in-depth business intelligence.
Digital Paperwork
Make the move to a paperless workflow with online employer forms. Commitment statements, health and safety paperwork and more can all be gathered online with support for digital signature capture.
- Organisation Webforms
- WebForms for organisations can capture information remotely and store it against the organisation record.
- Set up fields to be filled out and digitally signed by organisation representatives.
- Leave a clear audit trail for any agreements.
Applicant Management
Paperless applicant management and onboarding
Our applicant management facilities help you to provide a responsive service to your prospective learners from initial contact to signup.
Online Applications
Streamline your onboarding workflow with online forms and paperless data capture, removing any barriers to applicant engagement.
- Signup Forms
- Capture initial interest with PICS applicant signup forms.
- Sending out forms for completion is as simple as sharing the URL.
- Submitted forms will automatically populate a new applicant record.
- Paperless Onboarding
- Manage the application process with vacancy and opportunity tracking.
- Capture all the necessary data to enrol an applicant as a new learner through online forms.
Flexible Workflows
Use custom applicant statuses and workflows to build an enrolment pipeline that suits your organisation’s needs. Ensure that all the necessary data is available from day one of enrolment.
- Custom Statuses
- Manage every step of the onboarding process with custom applicant status workflows.
- Set up validation rules and post-transition actions to automate the applicant journey.
- Report on applicant statuses to get a top-level view of your pipeline.
- Third-party Connections
- Integrate with the LRS to download applicant ULNs within PICS.
- Upload vacancies to the Recruit an Apprentice service for increased applicant engagement.
- Connect to bksb to download all necessary functional skills data.
Efficient Enrolment
With data capture for financial details, courses, programmes and more, PICS applicant management minimises unnecessary data entry when creating a new learner from an applicant.
- Capture Programme Details
- Use template qualification plans to build an applicant’s programme.
- Record course data to manage delivery.
- Log communications and paperwork for a clear audit trail.
- Easy Transfer to a Learner
- Our simple enrolment process brings all the necessary applicant data into the new learner record.
- Learner signup can be done in person or remotely through WebForms,, depending on your needs.
Connections
Powerful data connections
PICS offers powerful connections to a range of third-party systems to minimise duplicate data entry and maximise consistency. This includes Smart Apprentices and bksb, other solutions from Advanced Education, allowing you to work with a suite of best-in-class products.
bksb
Bksb is the leading supplier in Functional Skills and GCSE assessment and development software.
- Manage Functional Skills Assessments
- Create bksb logins for your learners and applicants.
- Download assessment results from bksb into PICS.
Smart Assessor
Smart Assessor is the next generation in ePortfolio and end point assessment technologies.
- Connected ePortfolio
- Enrol your learners in Smart Assessor from PICS.
- Synchronise qualification basedata and more between the two systems.
- Update officer and organisation data to ensure consistency between the two systems.
- Synchronise Progression
- Download the latest progression data for your learners from Smart Assessor into PICS.
- Import review sessions from Smart Assessor to populate PICS review records.
Other Connections
PICS also connects with a range of other third-party systems. Keep more data in the same place and maximise the functionality available within PICS by making use of these connection opportunities.
- Data Integrations
- Download postcode data to speed up address data capture.
- EDownload vacancy feed data to match up applicants with the best placements.
- Connect to the LRS to generate applicant ULNs.
- Expand your functionality
- Connect with an SMS service to send automated text messages from PICS.
- Connect with Azure File Storage to share and store report files outside of PICS.
Reporting
Flexible reporting suite
PICS reports offer powerful and intuitive insight without the need for specialised reporting staff. Our wide range of report templates can be customised and generated at the click of a button to provide clear analysis, including progression, financial and achievement rate data.
Report Templates
PICS reports are based on a comprehensive range of report templates, designed with accessibility and flexibility in mind.
- Off-the-Shelf Templates
- Inbuilt report templates cover all data areas in the system.
- Reports can be loaded up and ran at the click of a button for immediate data snapshots.
- TReport on actual and projected funding values for financial analysis and planning.
- Flexible Customisations
- A range of filtering options means that you can create highly focused reports.
- You have complete control of what output fields are included, allowing for truly flexible reporting.
- Once customised, reports can be saved, so that you can have quick access to your ideal report.
Interactive Reports
For more powerful insight, make use of our interactive reports, which allow you to analyse your data against any of the output fields in your report.
- Intuitive Pivot Tables
- Choose from a range of chart displays to perfectly visualise your data.
- Add filters and analysis columns to focus in on the right data.
- Additional interactive features are available for QARs to illuminate one of the most important performance metrics.
- Custom Dashboards
- Create real-time dashboards based on a selection of interactive reports.
- Share dashboards with other users, allowing in-depth insight at a glance.
- See the big picture without having to dive into the data.
Sharing and Scheduling
Your data is only as powerful as it is accessible – our sharing and scheduling features ensure that insight is available to whoever needs it whenever they need it.
- Share your Reports
- Share to individual users or teams according to your requirements.
- Export reports to Azure storage for sharing outside of PICS.
- Set up Report Schedules
- Highly flexible schedules can be set up for bespoke automation.
- Bring email functionality into your schedules to further reduce your admin burden.
PICS for Employability
The proven, flexible Case Management System for all DWP programmes
Our comprehensive employability CMS provides a unified platform for DWP programmes. With comprehensive administrative functions married to task-focused key worker interfaces and a Jobseeker portal, PICS provides a scalable and reliable platform helping you to deliver excellent outcomes.
Support for large-scale DWP programmes
PICS for Employability supports delivery across a range of DWP-funded programmes. Our team will work with you to set up a bespoke solution for your DWP delivery.
- Compliant Data Capture
- PICS is updated for each new DWP contract by our expert development team.
- Validation for customers and job outcomes.
- Feed any compliance issues back to key workers through the key worker portal.
- Generate and Import Documentation
- Single-click generation of mandation letters and other compliance documentation.
- Import customer records from PRaP.
- Import DWP remittance files into PICS for funding reports.
Custom workflows
With a powerful and flexible workflow engine at the heart of the PICS CMS, the system can be shaped to the requirements of all DWP contracts.
- Contract-Specific Statuses
- Work with our team to set up the correct statuses for your customers.
- Progress your customers through each status with our workflow engine.
- Validations and Automations
- Build custom validations into your workflows.
- Set up a range of automations based on status transitions, including appointment scheduling.
- Automated SMS reminders to customers for increased engagement.
Powerful data connections
Keep your processes entirely within PICS for Employability using our range of third-party data connections.
- Access Data from PICS
- Connect to Adzuna to download vacancy feed information.
- Connect to EntitledTo to download benefits entitlement information.
- Expand your Functionality
- Integrate with Outlook for automated email functionality.
- Integrate with Twilio for automated SMS functionality.
IMPLEMENTATION
Welcoming you onboard
Kick-Off
Work with your Advanced project manager to tailor delivery, based on your software requirements and best practice.
Initial Training
Work with a member of our training team on a hands-on programme of training suited to your organisation's needs.
Go Live
After completing initial training, you will be ready to go live with PICS. At this point you will be given full support access.
Up and Running
Once you have gone live, follow-up training may be scheduled as appropriate.
RESOURCES
Education resources that help you transform
Featured resources for you
WEBINAR
Boosting Efficiency with PICS: A Webinar on Productivity Gains
Watch this on-demand webinar designed to showcase how PICS, the most used ILR system in the country, can help organisations achieve efficiency gains and boost productivity through our class-leading software.
WEBINAR
How to support apprenticeship success and boost outcomes
This webinar is designed to explore the benefits of apprenticeship support and how it can be leveraged to enhance the success and outcomes of apprenticeship programs.
WEBINAR
The Future of Advanced Education: Elevate your organisation
Advanced Education prides itself on its dedication to the education sector and the investments made in our products we hope to bring together all our solutions into one super suite for all things education.