In development
Employer collaboration
Employer adjustments software for apprentices: employers deliver agreed workplace adjustments and see only what they need, never the learner's full history.
Role
Inclusion Studio for apprenticeship employers
What employers of apprentices see in Inclusion Studio: only workplace adjustments and their own actions, never the learner's full support history.
In short
Employer contacts see the workplace adjustments agreed for their apprentice and the actions they own. They never see the learner's full history, notes, documents or feedback. Access is checked on the server.
If you employ an apprentice, you share responsibility for their success with the training provider. You control the workplace; the provider teaches and assesses. Inclusion Studio is designed to let the two of you coordinate adjustments without the provider handing over the apprentice’s personal history.
What does an employer’s day look like?
You are a line manager, a mentor or an HR contact, with a real job to do. Your apprentice has off-the-job training, and the provider has told you they may need an adjustment. Often the message is vague, comes late, or includes more information than you need or are entitled to. You want to know what to do, by when, and whether it is working.
What do employers need?
- A clear statement of what to change at work.
- Only the information needed to act on it.
- A record of your own actions and deadlines.
- A way to say what is or is not practical.
- Confidence that you are not receiving, or accountable for, sensitive information that is not yours.
What do employers see in Inclusion Studio?
Employer contacts see:
- Workplace adjustments. Only those agreed for the apprentice they are linked to, in practical wording, such as a quiet place for a task or written instructions.
- Their own actions. What they have agreed to do, by when, and the status.
- Review prompts. A chance to say whether an adjustment is practical or working.
See employer collaboration for the full picture, and working with employers on adjustments for practice.
What can employers not see?
Employers never see the learner’s full history. That means no diagnoses, support notes, learner voice entries, reviews, uploaded documents, or records of support delivered by the provider. The training provider decides what is shared and the apprentice is involved in that decision. These limits are enforced on the server by organisation, relationship and field, not by hiding buttons. See permissions and roles.
This protects the apprentice. Health information is special category data and needs particular care. See special category data in education.
Who is responsible for what?
| Area | Usually responsible |
|---|---|
| Adjustments to teaching, learning materials, assessment at the provider | Training provider |
| Adjustments to the workplace, equipment and work tasks | Employer, with help such as Access to Work where eligible |
| Adjustments for end-point assessment | Set by the assessment arrangements; the provider and employer help gather evidence |
| Review of whether support works | Provider, with input from the apprentice and the employer |
DfE guidance says workplace adjustments are the employer’s responsibility and that Access to Work may help. The Equality Act 2010 duty to make reasonable adjustments applies to employers of disabled employees, and that includes apprentices. This is general information and not legal advice. See Access to Work for apprentices and reasonable adjustments for apprentices.
Does this extend to workplace inclusion generally?
No. Employer collaboration is limited to apprentices and to adjustments agreed in the provider’s process. A separate workplace inclusion edition is planned for later and needs validation because employment law and employee data boundaries differ. See workplace.
What might a fictional example look like?
This is a fictional example, not a real employer. A retail manager employs an apprentice whose training provider has agreed a plan with her. The manager sees one workplace adjustment: breaks scheduled after the longest customer-facing tasks, with a quiet space to use them. They also see one action of their own: update the rota by Friday. They do not see why the adjustment was agreed. After a month the manager marks the rota change as done, and at review the apprentice says it is working. If the manager had said the rota change was not practical, the provider would see that and talk to both of them about alternatives, rather than the adjustment silently failing.
What should an employer ask the provider?
- What exactly am I being asked to change, and by when?
- Who else is told, and what do they see?
- Is anything here something we could get help with, such as Access to Work?
- How will we know it worked?
- Who do I contact if it is not practical?
What is the current status?
Inclusion Studio is pre-pilot. The employer view exists as a design and, in part, in the prototype with fictional records. The production application is being built on synthetic data. The pilot starts with FE colleges and apprenticeship providers, who would invite their employers. If you are an employer and would like to give feedback, contact us. Providers should see apprenticeship providers, and the roles overview compares every view.
Frequently asked questions
What can an employer see about an apprentice?
Only the workplace adjustments agreed for that apprentice and the actions the employer owns. They do not see the full support history, notes, documents, learner feedback or diagnoses.
Is the employer responsible for workplace adjustments?
DfE guidance on apprenticeship learning support says workplace adjustments are the employer's responsibility and that Access to Work may help. The training provider handles adjustments to teaching and assessment.
Does the employer need an account?
Employer contacts would be given limited access linked to the apprentice. How this works in practice will be tested in the pilot.
Is this an HR or occupational health system?
No. It is a limited view for apprenticeship collaboration. A workplace inclusion edition for employers generally is planned for later and separate.
Sources and further reading
- Support for apprentices with learning difficulties and disabilities (GOV.UK)
- Equality Act 2010, section 20 (duty to make adjustments)
- Access to Work (GOV.UK)
Official guidance changes. Check the source before relying on any detail, and take professional advice for individual cases.
Help shape the pilot
We are working with a small number of England FE colleges and apprenticeship providers first. Tell us about your learner support and we will be in touch.