Tag: UK

Compliance Training Software for FCA-Regulated Firms

Compliance training software for an FCA-regulated firm has one main job: to prove, person by person, that your people are trained and competent for the role they do. That means a full audit trail (who completed what, which version, when, and how they scored), CPD records for advisers, reporting by role and regulated entity, and exports you can hand to your board or the FCA. Content library and course design matter too, but if the records can’t answer an FCA question, the software has failed.

This guide sets out what the rules actually require of your training records, the features that follow from them, and the questions to ask a provider before you sign.

What does the FCA require from your training records?

There is no FCA rule that names a particular kind of software. The requirements come from the duties on competence and conduct, and each one creates something your system has to record.

Requirement	Source	What your software needs to show
Employ people with the skills, knowledge and expertise their responsibilities need	SYSC 5.1.1R	Role-based training, so each person gets what their job requires
Be able to demonstrate knowledge and competence to the FCA on request (MiFID business)	SYSC 5.1.5AB R	Records you can produce quickly, by person and role
Review competence “on a regular and frequent basis”	TC 2.1.12R	Dated assessments and refreshers, not a one-off induction
Retail investment advisers complete at least 35 hours of CPD a year, with 21 hours structured	TC 2.1.15R and TC 2.1.16G	CPD logs per adviser, with structured and unstructured hours
Keep records of CPD completed by each adviser	TC 2.1.24R	A CPD record that survives audits, moves and leavers
Take steps so staff understand the conduct rules, including “the provision of suitable training”	FSMA section 64B	Conduct rules training assigned to everyone in scope, with completion evidence
Certificates for certified staff last 12 months	FSMA section 63F	Training and assessment evidence that feeds each annual fitness and propriety check
Training and competence records support the board’s Consumer Duty assessment	FCA FG22/5	Reports by role and team that drop into the annual board report

The Training and Competence sourcebook (TC) applies where employees carry on certain activities for retail clients, so advisers in an IFA or wealth manager are in scope in a way a back-office team may not be. SYSC 5.1.1R and the conduct rules reach far wider. For the general duty to keep records, TC points you to SYSC 9.1.1R, and your own record-keeping policy sets how long they are kept.

What should compliance training software do for an FCA firm?

Work back from the table and most of the feature list writes itself.

A real audit trail

Completion and a date are the minimum. A defensible record also shows which version of the course the person took, their score, how many attempts they needed and, for scenario-based modules, the decisions they made. When the FCA or your auditors ask how you know someone understood the conduct rules, “they finished the course” is a weak answer. “They scored 90% on these ten scenarios in March, on the version that reflected the new vulnerability policy” is a strong one.

Check that records can’t be quietly edited, and that changes by administrators are logged.

Role-based learning paths

A compliance officer, a paraplanner and a call handler need different training. Good software assigns paths by role, team and regulated entity automatically, so a new joiner gets the right courses on day one and a person who changes role picks up the gaps. This is also how you meet the FCA’s expectation in Consumer Duty work that training reflects each person’s role.

CPD tracking for advisers

If you employ retail investment advisers, you need a CPD record for each one: hours, structured or unstructured, the activity and the date. A lot of CPD happens outside the LMS (conferences, webinars, reading), so the software should let advisers or supervisors log external activity alongside completed courses. If CPD sits in a separate spreadsheet, you have two records to reconcile at audit time.

Reporting your board and the FCA can use

You will want reports by person, team, role, site and legal entity, showing completions, overdue training, scores and certificates. Your annual Consumer Duty board report needs training data broken down by role, and our guide to Consumer Duty training covers what the FCA has said good evidence looks like. Exports should be simple: a CSV or PDF you can attach to a board pack without manual tidying.

Recertification and reminders

Annual and periodic training (conduct rules, AML, data protection, market abuse) needs automatic reassignment and reminders, with escalation to managers when someone is overdue. Tie the timing to your certification cycle, so the evidence is ready before each annual fitness and propriety assessment rather than chased afterwards.

Joiners, movers and leavers

Single sign-on with Microsoft or Google, plus a link to your HR system, keeps the user list accurate. It also stops a common audit problem: leavers’ accounts deleted along with their training history. Make sure records are archived when someone leaves.

Security and data protection

Training records are personal data. Ask where the data is hosted, whether the provider signs a data processing agreement under UK GDPR, how backups work and what security certification the supplier holds. Cyber Essentials is a sensible minimum for a UK supplier.

Content that fits the firm

The software holds the evidence. Whether behaviour changes depends on the content. Generic courses are fine for general topics. For conduct, Consumer Duty, vulnerability and your own products, the FCA has repeatedly criticised training that does not reflect how the firm actually works. Check whether the platform can host your own SCORM or xAPI modules, so bespoke content and library courses sit in one record.

Questions to ask a compliance training software provider

Take these into any demo. A provider who works with regulated firms should answer all of them without hesitation.

Show me the full record for one learner: course version, score, attempts and scenario answers.
Can administrators edit completion records, and is every change logged?
How do advisers record external CPD, and can I report structured and unstructured hours separately?
Can I report by legal entity as well as by team and role?
What happens to a leaver’s records, and how long are they kept?
How are refreshers reassigned, and who gets told when someone is overdue?
Where is the data hosted, who are your sub-processors, and will you sign a data processing agreement?
Can you migrate our existing completion history with the original dates?
How quickly can you update a course when the FCA changes a rule or publishes new findings?
What does the price include: licences, hosting, support, content updates?

The last two catch many firms out. A platform that is cheap per learner but charges for every content change gets expensive in a year with several FCA publications.

Common gaps we see in FCA firms’ training records

From building compliance training for regulated organisations, the same problems come up:

Completion-only reporting. The system knows who finished but not what they understood. Scenario-based assessment fixes this.
No version history. The course was updated after a policy change, but the records can’t show who took which version.
CPD in spreadsheets. Adviser CPD lives outside the LMS and has to be reconciled by hand before every audit.
Lost history. Records from an old LMS were left behind in a migration, or leavers were deleted.
One course for everyone. A single annual module that does not reflect anyone’s actual role, which is the weakness the FCA keeps finding in Consumer Duty reviews.

Our article on UK compliance training problems covers these in more depth.

What the 2026 SM&CR changes mean for your software

The FCA’s PS26/6, published in April 2026, made the first set of changes to the Senior Managers and Certification Regime. From 10 July 2026 firms no longer need to certify the same person for several overlapping certification functions. The certificate itself is still valid for 12 months under section 63F.

The bigger changes depend on legislation. HM Treasury has proposed taking the Certification Regime out of the Act so it can be replaced through regulators’ rules, and the FCA and PRA expect to consult on that second phase later in 2026. Whatever comes next, firms will still need to show their people are competent. Choose software where learning paths and reports are easy to reconfigure, so a change in the regime means new settings rather than a new system.

How Capytech helps

The Capytech LMS gives you a branded academy with role-based learning paths, certificates and a training record for each person, which supports your T&C and CPD evidence. You can report completions, scores, compliance status and certificates by person, team, role or site, and export them for audits, your Consumer Duty board report or an FCA visit. It is hosted in the UK on AWS in London with daily UK backups, uses single sign-on with Microsoft or Google, and we sign a data processing agreement with every client. Capytech UK is Cyber Essentials certified. If you are moving from another system, past completion records can come across with their original dates as part of a quoted migration.

For content, we build FCA compliance e-learning around your own products, procedures and customers, with scenario-based assessments that capture decisions as well as scores. With FastTrack, updates are unlimited and text changes are turned around within 48 hours, so training keeps pace with the FCA. Ready-made courses for general topics come from our course library, and everything can be delivered in any language.

Frequently asked questions

What is compliance training software?

It is a learning management system set up to assign, deliver and record mandatory training, so a firm can prove its people are trained for their roles. For FCA-regulated firms that means audit trails, CPD records for advisers and reports by role and entity, as well as the courses themselves.

What should I look for in an LMS for FCA audit trails?

Look for records that show course version, date, score, attempts and scenario answers for each person, a log of any administrator changes, and archived records for leavers. You should be able to export that history quickly when the FCA or your auditors ask.

Can an LMS track CPD for financial advisers?

It can, if it records external CPD as well as completed courses. Retail investment advisers need at least 35 hours of CPD a year, 21 of them structured, under TC 2.1.15R and TC 2.1.16G, and the firm must keep records of it. Check that the system reports structured and unstructured hours separately.

Is off-the-shelf compliance training enough for the FCA?

For general topics it can be. For conduct, Consumer Duty, vulnerability and your own products, the FCA has criticised training that does not reflect how the firm works, so most firms combine library courses with modules built around their own policies and customers.

How often does FCA compliance training need refreshing?

The FCA does not set one frequency for all training. TC requires competence to be reviewed on a regular and frequent basis, certificates under SM&CR last 12 months, and most firms run annual refreshers plus updates whenever rules or procedures change.

A branded LMS your people will actually use

The Capytech LMS gives you your own branded academy, apps and reporting, hosted in the UK and run by our team.

See the Capytech LMS

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15 October 2026

E-Learning Development Cost in the UK: What Drives the Price

E-learning development cost depends on how much work sits behind each finished minute of learning: the length of the course, how interactive it is, the media it uses, how many languages it needs and how many review rounds it takes. Suppliers price that work per module or per finished minute, by day rate, as a fixed-price project or as a monthly subscription. Two quotes can only be compared when they cover the same scope, so agree the scope before you compare the totals.

This guide is for L&D and HR managers collecting quotes. We have left out figures on purpose: a number without a scope tells you very little, so use the checklist below to get every supplier, us included, pricing the same thing.

How long does it take to develop one hour of e-learning?

Time is the biggest ingredient in any quote, so it helps to know how much effort sits behind a finished hour. A widely quoted benchmark is a 2010 survey by the Chapman Alliance of 249 organisations, representing 3,947 learning development professionals. It counted the time of everyone on the development team, including instructional designers, writers, subject matter experts, graphic artists and project managers.

Type of learning	Average development hours per finished hour
Instructor-led training	43
Level 1 e-learning (basic)	79
Level 2 e-learning (interactive)	184
Level 3 e-learning (advanced)	490

Source: Chapman Alliance, How Long Does it Take to Create Learning? (September 2010).

Moving from basic to interactive e-learning more than doubles the effort, and advanced work multiplies it again. The data is from 2010, and in our experience modern authoring tools and AI have shortened parts of the process considerably, so treat the ratios as a guide to the relative effort of each level.

What drives e-learning development cost?

Every quote is an estimate of effort against these factors. The clearer your brief is on each one, the closer the quotes will be to each other and to the final invoice.

Length. Usually measured in finished minutes: how long a typical learner takes to complete the course. More content means more to write and test. Agree how length will be measured, because one supplier’s 20-minute module can be another’s 30.
Interactivity. Text and images with knowledge checks sit at one end, click-and-reveal and drag-and-drop activities in the middle, and branching scenarios, simulations and games at the far end. Each step up adds a lot of effort.
Media. Stock images cost least. Custom illustration, animation, filmed video and professional voiceover all add production time, with animation and filming usually adding the most. Voiceover also affects future updates, because a script change means a re-record.
Languages. Each language needs translation, a review by a native speaker, adjusted screens and testing. Right-to-left languages such as Arabic need the layout mirrored as well.
Accessibility. Building to WCAG 2.1 level AA covers captions, colour contrast, keyboard navigation and screen reader support. In our experience it costs far less to plan this from the storyboard than to fix a finished course.
Review rounds. Each round of feedback takes time to collate and apply. Fixed quotes normally include a set number of rounds, so ask what happens if you need more.
Subject matter expert time. Your experts answer questions, check accuracy and sign off. The Chapman survey counted their hours as development time, and slow answers stretch the timeline.
AI features. An in-course AI tutor, AI marking of open-text answers or adaptive AI scenarios all need design, set-up and testing on your content. Ask whether the AI provider’s usage costs are included or billed separately.

How do e-learning suppliers price their work?

You will see four pricing models in proposals. Each one puts the risk in a different place.

Model	How it works	Suits	Watch for
Per module or per finished minute	A set price per module or per minute at an agreed level of interactivity	A programme with a clear list of courses	How length is measured, and which level each module is priced at
Day rate	You pay for the days the team works	Discovery work, or a scope that is still moving	Overruns: ask for an estimate per stage and a cap
Fixed-price project	One price for an agreed scope and timetable	Larger programmes with a firm brief	Change requests, review rounds and what counts as a change
Subscription	A fixed monthly fee covering development and updates	A steady flow of content that changes often	The minimum term and how many modules are included

Per-module and per-minute pricing make a series easy to budget, as long as both sides agree what level of interactivity the price buys. Day rates are honest about effort, but you carry the risk if the project grows. A fixed price moves that risk to the supplier, which is why the scope document and the change process matter so much.

With a subscription, a fixed monthly fee replaces a large build fee at the start, and updates can be included. Our FastTrack service works this way, with no upfront build cost and unlimited updates turned around within 48 hours.

The hidden costs buyers forget

The development quote is rarely the whole cost of a course over its life. Before you sign, ask about these:

An LMS and support. If you do not have a learning management system, you need one to host the course and track completions, and someone to run it and help learners. LMS pricing is often based on the number of learners, and set-up, branding or single sign-on can be extra.
Updates when policies change. Regulations, procedures and products change. If every edit needs a new purchase order, small changes get put off and courses drift out of date.
Translation updates. Every change to the English version has to be made and tested in every other language too.
Internal review time. L&D, subject matter experts, legal and compliance reviewers all spend hours on storyboards and drafts. Count it when you compare an in-house build with buying in.
Licences and source files. Check that image, music and font licences last as long as you use the course, and that you receive the source files, so another supplier could update it later.

How to compare e-learning quotes like for like

In our experience, quotes that look far apart have usually priced different things. Send every supplier the same written brief, then check each quote against these points:

The number of modules, the finished length of each and how length is measured.
The level of interactivity, ideally shown with a sample screen or demo.
Media: illustration, animation, video and voiceover, and whether the voice is a professional or synthetic one.
The number of review rounds, and the cost of a change after sign-off.
The accessibility standard, for example WCAG 2.1 AA, and how it will be tested.
The output your LMS needs (SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004 or xAPI) and who tests it in your LMS.
Languages, and how later changes to translated versions are charged.
Updates after launch: included, charged per change or not offered.
Who owns the finished course and the source files.
The timescale, and what you must supply to keep to it.
Whether the figures include VAT.

Ask to click through a finished course at the level you are being quoted for. Our guide on how to choose an e-learning developer in the UK covers the questions to ask beyond price.

How to reduce e-learning cost without hurting quality

Cut to what people need to do. List the decisions and actions the course must change, and drop content that does not support them. Shorter modules cost less to build and to keep up to date.
Match interactivity to risk. Save branching scenarios and animation for decisions where mistakes are costly. A policy update may only need clear screens and a short quiz.
Start from what you already have. PowerPoint decks, PDFs and manuals are a good starting point. Our guide to turning PowerPoint and PDF training into SCORM e-learning explains how.
Buy generic topics off the shelf. Subjects that are the same in every organisation rarely need a bespoke build. Our course library has more than 9,000 ready-made courses.
Name one decision maker. Collect every reviewer’s comments into one list per round, signed off by one person. Conflicting feedback is a common cause of extra rounds.
Book your experts early. Agree when subject matter experts will review storyboards and drafts before the project starts.

How Capytech prices custom e-learning

We offer three tiers of custom e-learning development. Pricing depends on the tier, the length of each module and the cost drivers above. All three tiers are delivered as SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004 or xAPI and built to WCAG 2.1 AA.

FastTrack turns your documents into clean, mobile-friendly interactive modules, typically in 4 to 5 working days. It runs on a fixed monthly fee with no upfront build cost, unlimited 48-hour updates and a branded LMS included.
Gold adds rich media, professional narration and activities such as click-and-reveal, timelines and knowledge checks. It typically takes 3 to 5 weeks from a signed-off storyboard.
Platinum is for flagship programmes, with fully custom interfaces, bespoke animation, branching scenarios, gamification and embedded AI tools. It typically takes 6 to 10 weeks.

Gold and Platinum modules are quoted for each project. AI features (AI Tutor, AI Feedback and AI Scenarios) are available on both.

The quickest way to judge which tier you need is to see one built from your own material. Send us one document and we will build a free demo module from it.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to build an e-learning course?

It depends on the length, the level of interactivity, the media, the number of languages and how many review rounds you need. A short module of text, images and a quiz takes a fraction of the effort of an hour of branching scenarios with animation. Send every supplier the same written brief so you can compare the quotes like for like.

Is there an e-learning cost calculator?

Some suppliers and industry sites publish calculators. Most multiply a development hours ratio, such as the Chapman Alliance figures, by an hourly or daily rate. They are useful for a first budget, but a quote against your own written brief is far more reliable.

Why does bespoke e-learning cost more than off-the-shelf courses?

An off-the-shelf course is built once and sold to many organisations, so the development cost is shared. A bespoke course is designed around your own procedures and people, and you carry the whole cost. Many organisations use off-the-shelf courses for generic topics and bespoke e-learning for anything specific to them.

Is a subscription cheaper than paying for each e-learning project?

It depends on how many modules you need and how often your content changes. A subscription turns the cost into a fixed monthly fee with no upfront build cost, and where updates are included it removes the cost of keeping courses accurate. For a single course that will never change, a one-off project may suit you better.

See your own training as e-learning, free

Send us one document and we will turn it into an interactive demo module, so you can judge the quality before you spend anything.

Get a free demo module

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13 October 2026

White Label LMS: Buy, Rent or Build? A Guide for UK Teams

A white label LMS is a learning management system that carries your brand instead of the supplier’s: your logo, your own web address, your certificates and your own mobile app. You can buy a SaaS platform and brand it yourself, rent a managed branded LMS that a supplier sets up and runs for you, or commission a custom build. As a rule of thumb, buy if you have someone with time to run it, rent if you would rather a supplier ran it, and build only when no existing product does what you need.

This guide is for UK L&D leads and training business owners choosing a platform. It covers each route, what to check before you sign, timelines and how to move your records across.

What is a white label LMS?

“White label” describes a product made by one company and sold under another’s name. For a learning platform, it means learners see your organisation from the login page onwards and never see the supplier. A full white label LMS gives you:

Your domain, such as learning.yourcompany.co.uk, instead of a page on the supplier’s website.
Your look and emails: logo and colours on every screen, and enrolment and reminder emails sent in your name.
Your certificates, with your logo, signatory and any accreditation details.
Your apps: mobile apps in your branding, with no “powered by” footer anywhere.

“Branded LMS” usually means the same thing, but some suppliers use it for little more than a logo and a colour change, so ask to see a live client site on a phone as well as a laptop. For training businesses this matters most, because clients are paying for your name.

Buy, rent or build: the three routes compared

	Buy a SaaS LMS	Rent a managed branded LMS	Build a custom LMS
What it is	A self-service platform you subscribe to and brand yourself	A supplier sets up, brands, hosts and runs it for you	A platform designed around your requirements
Time to go live	Sign-up is quick; set-up depends on your team	Days for a standard set-up	Weeks to months, depending on scope
Effort from your team	High: you configure, administer and support it	Low: you approve and manage learners	Medium during the build, then long-term ownership
Branding	Varies by plan	Usually part of the service	Whatever you specify
Flexibility	Limited to the product’s features	The supplier can add reports and integrations	Highest
Main risk	Needing a feature you cannot add	Depending on one supplier	Overruns, and years of maintenance

Buy a SaaS platform and brand it yourself

You pay a subscription, usually per active user or in user bands, for a ready-made platform. You can often start a trial the same day, and the product improves without you paying for development.

The catch is that your own domain, removing the supplier’s branding and a branded app can be limited to higher plans. Your team does the set-up, user management and first-line learner support, and if you need something the product does not do, such as a specific audit report, you wait for the vendor’s roadmap. Buying suits organisations with a confident LMS administrator and standard needs.

Rent a managed branded LMS

The supplier sets the LMS up on your domain, applies your branding, uploads your courses, imports your users and connects single sign-on, then hosts, updates and supports it for one ongoing fee, normally based on user numbers and features.

You launch quickly with little internal effort, and the supplier can add reports and integrations a self-service product would not. The trade-off is dependence on one supplier, so the service level and exit terms must be in writing. This is how the Capytech LMS works. It suits L&D teams without spare admin time and training businesses selling under their own brand.

Build a custom LMS

A custom or bespoke LMS is designed around your workflows, competency framework, integrations and client structure, and if the platform is a product you sell, you control the roadmap.

Building from a blank page is the slowest and most expensive route, and the cost continues after launch: hosting, security patches, backups, accessibility fixes and new features for as long as you run it. A sensible custom build starts from a proven LMS core and builds the bespoke parts on top, which is much faster and keeps the core updated.

What to check before you choose a white label LMS

Test each supplier against this list, using a live demo with your own content.

SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004 and xAPI. Upload one of your own packages and check that completion, score and pass or fail are recorded. xAPI also needs a Learning Record Store, so ask whether one is included.
Single sign-on. Staff should log in with their Microsoft or Google work account, so leavers lose access when IT closes their account.
Reporting and exports for audits. You need completions, scores, certificates and overdue training by person, team and site, with exports an auditor can read. Our post on audit-ready training explains what a defensible record looks like.
Data hosting and UK GDPR. Ask where data and backups are stored, and who can access them from which countries. If learner data goes to, or can be accessed by, an organisation outside the UK, the UK GDPR rules on international transfers apply.
Accessibility. Ask whether the platform itself, as well as the courses, meets WCAG 2.1 level AA, and for evidence such as an audit report.
Mobile apps. Check for native iOS and Android apps in your branding, and test them on your staff’s phones.
Support model. Find out who answers learners, who helps your administrators, how quickly, and what availability the supplier commits to.
Selling courses. Training businesses should check payments, bulk licences for corporate clients and separate branded areas for each client.

To turn these checks into a list you can send to suppliers, use our free LMS requirements checklist. Mark what you need as must, should or could have, then download the questions to ask every supplier as a spreadsheet.

Who owns your data and content if you leave?

This is easy to forget until a contract ends, so settle it before you sign.

Under UK GDPR you are normally the controller of your learners’ personal data and the LMS supplier is your processor. The guidance on controller and processor contracts from the ICO (now formally the Information Commission) says the contract must require the processor, at the end of the contract, to delete or return all the personal data at your choice, and to delete existing copies unless UK law requires them to be kept.

That is the legal minimum. Your contract should also state:

the export you receive (users, enrolments, completion dates, scores and certificates) and its format
that your courses, SCORM packages and source files belong to you
who owns custom features or integrations built for you
the notice period, and how long you keep access to check the export

How long does it take to set up a white label LMS?

Buying: an account can be ready the same day, but the set-up, course testing and user imports fall to your team.
Renting: a standard branded Capytech LMS can be live in days once we have your branding and user list.
Building: a custom Capytech LMS build typically takes 6 to 8 weeks. Building from scratch takes longer, because every standard feature has to be written and tested first.

Can you get fixed-price custom LMS development?

Yes, when the scope is agreed in writing first. We quote a fixed price for an agreed scope and agree the delivery plan before any work starts, so the cost and timetable are settled before you commit.

Whoever you shortlist, the scope should list features and user roles, integrations, branding and apps, reports, what migration is included, acceptance tests and how changes are priced. Cost is driven mainly by user numbers, integrations, how much is genuinely bespoke and how much history needs migrating. Ask every supplier to price the same scope.

Moving to a new LMS: users, courses and completion records

Users move easily. Import them from a spreadsheet or through single sign-on, then enrol them by role, team or site.
Courses move easily if they are SCORM or xAPI packages, videos or documents. Re-upload and test each one.
Completion records need planning, because not every platform can import past completions with their original dates. With the Capytech LMS, they can be brought across with their original dates as part of a quoted migration, or kept as an archived report.

Before you give notice, request a full export from your current supplier and check that it opens.

How the Capytech LMS works

The Capytech LMS is a managed white label LMS on your own domain, with your branding and certificates, native iOS and Android apps and single sign-on with Microsoft or Google. It is hosted in the UK on AWS in London with daily UK backups and a 99.5% availability service level, and we sign a data processing agreement with every client.

It runs SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004 and xAPI content and includes a 50+ module Quick Start library. You can add courses from our off-the-shelf library of 9,000+ titles, or have your own documents turned into interactive modules with FastTrack, typically in 4 to 5 working days, with the branded LMS included.

Eagle Eye Innovations, a CAA Recognised Assessment Entity in Lincoln, delivers its RPC-L1, A2 CofC and UK SORA drone training through FastTrack on a branded Capytech LMS, with AI-invigilated remote exams. Capytech UK Ltd is based in Cambridge, with its registered office in London, and is Cyber Essentials certified.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best LMS for a small business in the UK?

The one your team will keep running. If nobody has time to administer a platform, a managed branded LMS takes set-up and support off your hands. If you have a confident administrator and simple needs, a self-service SaaS plan can work. Either way, check the per-user cost at the size you expect to reach and how you would export your records.

How much does it cost to build an LMS?

It depends on the scope. The main cost drivers are user numbers, integrations, how much is bespoke and how much historical data has to be migrated, plus ongoing hosting and support. Get a fixed price against a written scope, and compare total cost over several years as well as the build fee.

Who offers fixed-price custom LMS development with a predictable delivery timeline?

Capytech does. We quote a fixed price for an agreed scope and agree the delivery plan before any work starts. A standard branded Capytech LMS can be live in days, and a custom build typically takes 6 to 8 weeks.

Is a bespoke LMS better than an off-the-shelf one?

Only if you need something an existing platform cannot do. A bespoke LMS gives you full control, but you pay for every feature and for maintaining it. A managed branded LMS with a few custom reports or integrations often gets you the same result sooner.

Can I keep my training records if I change LMS?

Yes, if you plan for it. Ask your current supplier for a full export of users, completions, scores and certificates before you give notice. With the Capytech LMS, past completion records can be brought across with their original dates as part of a quoted migration, or kept as an archived report you can show an auditor.

A branded LMS your people will actually use

The Capytech LMS gives you your own branded academy, apps and reporting, hosted in the UK and run by our team.

See the Capytech LMS

Talk to us

8 October 2026

IOSH Working Safely Online: How to Train a Whole Workforce

IOSH Working Safely is IOSH’s health and safety course for employees at any level who have little or no formal safety training, and taking IOSH Working Safely online means nobody needs to attend a classroom. With Capytech, the whole course, including the final assessment, is completed online in about 5 hours of self-paced learning, and successful learners are registered with IOSH and receive an IOSH Working Safely certificate. For a health and safety or HR manager, that means you can enrol a whole workforce on an LMS and track every completion and certificate in one place, without taking teams away from work for a day.

This guide explains what the course covers, how to roll it out to a team, how it differs from IOSH Managing Safely and what the law actually asks of you.

What is IOSH Working Safely?

IOSH, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health, is the Chartered body for safety and health professionals. Working Safely is its course for the wider workforce. It is designed and quality-assured by IOSH and delivered through IOSH’s network of approved training providers.

According to IOSH’s Working Safely course page, the course suits employees at all levels and in any sector, and no previous safety experience is needed. IOSH says it focuses on the practical actions people need to take to work safely and healthily, and steers clear of complicated legislation. IOSH lists the duration as one day, with in-person, online and hybrid options depending on the provider.

It is a popular choice. IOSH says it has issued 270,000 Working Safely certificates since 2020.

What does the IOSH Working Safely course cover?

IOSH lists five modules:

Introducing working safely: why safety and health matter, and the benefits for individuals, organisations and society.
Defining hazards and risks: how to identify common workplace hazards and the difference between a hazard and a risk.
Identifying common hazards: the range of hazards that may exist in a workplace and how they can cause harm.
Improving safety performance: practical ways each person can contribute to a safer workplace and support positive safety behaviours.
Protecting the environment: how workplace activities affect the environment and how everyone can help reduce the impact.

IOSH says each module is supported by scenarios based on genuine workplace situations, with case studies, games and quizzes to keep learners involved.

Successful learners receive an IOSH Working Safely certificate. Every genuine certificate can be checked with IOSH’s online certificate verification service, which is useful when a client or auditor asks for proof. IOSH also recognises the course for continuing professional development (CPD).

How does IOSH Working Safely online work?

With Capytech, IOSH Working Safely is delivered 100% online. Learners work through the course at their own pace, and it takes about 5 hours of learning including the final assessment. The assessment is taken online too, so nobody has to travel to sit an exam. When learners pass, they are registered with IOSH and receive an IOSH certificate.

For an employer, the difference is mostly about time and logistics. A classroom course means taking a group away from their work for a day and finding a date that suits every shift. With self-paced online learning, people complete it around their work, and you can enrol one new starter this week and a whole site next month.

We offer IOSH Working Safely through our off-the-shelf course library, which also holds more than 9,000 other courses, from management to compliance.

How to roll out IOSH Working Safely to a whole team

Training one person is simple. Training a workforce spread across sites and shifts is mainly an organisational job, and these steps keep it on track:

Decide who needs it. Working Safely is designed for people with little or no formal safety training. HSE’s guidance on deciding what training you need asks you to include new recruits, people changing jobs or taking on extra responsibilities, young employees and health and safety representatives.
Get everyone onto the LMS. Import your staff list, or connect single sign-on with Microsoft or Google so people log in with their work accounts. Group people by team, role or site when you enrol them, because that is how you will want to report on them later.
Give people the time. HSE says health and safety training should take place during working hours and must be free for employees. Agree with line managers when each team will do the course, and plan it into rotas as you would a classroom day.
Set a deadline and send reminders. Give each group a completion date. Check progress weekly, remind anyone who has not started, and involve their line manager if they are still outstanding close to the deadline.
Track completions and certificates. The Capytech LMS reports completions, scores, compliance status and certificates by person, team, role or site, and you can export them for audits and board reports.
Build it into induction. Make Working Safely part of onboarding, so new starters are covered from their first weeks and you are not waiting for the next big push.
Check that it worked. HSE suggests asking your workers whether the training is relevant and effective. Look at assessment results by team and follow up where a site struggled.

Add your own site rules

Working Safely gives people general awareness. HSE’s guidance also says everyone needs the right level of information on the hazards and risks they face, the measures in place to deal with them and how to follow your emergency procedures. Those details are specific to your workplace, so pair the IOSH course with a short module on your own procedures. Our FastTrack service builds modules like this from your own documents, typically in 4 to 5 working days.

If you are also dealing with role-based training and refresher dates, our post on UK compliance training problems and how to fix them covers the wider picture.

IOSH Working Safely vs Managing Safely: what is the difference?

IOSH positions its courses by role. On its Managing Safely page, IOSH describes Working Safely as its offering for all employees, and Managing Safely as the course for line managers, team leaders and supervisors. For senior leaders, IOSH offers Leading Safely.

	IOSH Working Safely	IOSH Managing Safely
Who it is for	Employees at all levels with little or no formal safety training	Line managers, team leaders and supervisors
Duration listed by IOSH	One day	Three days (full course)
Topics	Introducing working safely, hazards and risks, common hazards, improving safety performance, protecting the environment	Assessing risks, controlling risks, understanding responsibilities, understanding hazards, investigating incidents, measuring performance
Refresher listed by IOSH	None on the course page	One-day Managing Safely Refresher
Certificate	IOSH Working Safely certificate, verifiable online	Managing Safely certificate, verifiable online

In short, Working Safely helps everyone recognise hazards and play their part. Managing Safely teaches managers to assess and control risks, understand their legal obligations as a manager and investigate incidents. In a training matrix, IOSH’s own positioning points to Working Safely for the workforce and Managing Safely for the people who supervise them.

IOSH Working Safely is the IOSH course we offer now. If your managers or supervisors need further IOSH training, tell us what you need, because we can build other IOSH courses to your requirements.

Is IOSH Working Safely a legal requirement?

The law requires training, but it does not name IOSH or any other course. Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 requires every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work of all their employees. That duty includes providing “such information, instruction, training and supervision as is necessary” to ensure their health and safety at work.

HSE’s guidance puts it in practical terms: you must give your workers clear instructions and information, as well as adequate training and supervision. HSE also says that a low-risk business, such as an office, is likely to need only simple information or instructions, and that you can often do effective training in-house.

So IOSH Working Safely is one way to provide general health and safety training, with a certificate anyone can verify and a clear record of who has completed it. It sits alongside your own risk assessments and site briefings, because a general course cannot cover the hazards and emergency procedures that are specific to your workplace.

Does IOSH Working Safely expire?

IOSH’s courses page says IOSH certificates don’t expire, but IOSH recommends refresher training every three to five years to keep knowledge current and reflect changes in legislation and best practice. The Working Safely course page does not list a separate refresher course, whereas Managing Safely has a one-day refresher.

HSE’s guidance points the same way from the employer’s side. Keeping training records helps you decide when refresher training is needed, and staff need extra training when you bring in new equipment or your working practices change. Keep each person’s pass date on your LMS, so you can see who is coming up for a refresher and plan it in good time.

Frequently asked questions

How long is the IOSH Working Safely course?

IOSH lists Working Safely as a one-day course. Our online version takes about 5 hours of self-paced learning, including the final assessment, so learners can fit it around their work instead of losing a full day.

Does IOSH Working Safely expire?

No. IOSH says its certificates don’t expire, but it recommends refresher training every three to five years to keep knowledge current. Changes to your equipment or working practices may mean people need further training sooner.

Is IOSH Working Safely a qualification?

IOSH lists Working Safely as an awareness course, and successful learners receive an IOSH Working Safely certificate that can be verified online. IOSH’s formal qualifications, the IOSH Certificate and Diploma, are aimed at people pursuing a career in safety and go into much more technical depth.

Can you do IOSH Working Safely online?

Yes. IOSH lists the course as available in person, online and hybrid, depending on the provider. With Capytech it is 100% online, including the final assessment, and successful learners are registered with IOSH and receive an IOSH certificate.

How much does IOSH Working Safely online cost?

IOSH says the cost varies by training provider, location and any customisation. For a team, the total mainly depends on how many people you enrol and whether you also need a branded LMS to run and track the training. Tell us your headcount and we will send you a quote.

Ready-to-deploy courses for your team

From IOSH approved health and safety to management and wellbeing, our course library is ready to launch on your LMS.

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8 October 2026

Turn PowerPoint and PDF Training into SCORM E-Learning

You can turn a PowerPoint deck or a PDF manual into SCORM e-learning in three ways: export it with a conversion tool, rebuild it yourself in an authoring tool, or have a developer redesign it. A straight export is quick but usually gives you slides with a Next button. The courses that change what people do are rebuilt around the decisions staff have to make, with practice and a short assessment, then packaged as SCORM so your LMS records completions and scores.

This guide covers what SCORM does, the pros and cons of each route, what a good conversion should include and how to test the finished package before it reaches your staff.

What SCORM does and why your LMS needs it

SCORM is a set of technical standards for e-learning, created by the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiative, part of the US Department of Defense. A SCORM course is a zip file with a manifest that tells your learning management system how to launch it and what to record. Once it is uploaded, the LMS can track who started the course, who finished it, their score and whether they passed.

There are three formats you will come across:

SCORM 1.2 is the older version and still the most widely supported. If you are not sure what your LMS needs, this is the safe choice.
SCORM 2004 records completion and pass or fail separately, which is useful when someone can finish a course without passing it.
xAPI (also called Tin Can) can track learning outside the LMS, such as on a mobile app or in a simulation, but needs a Learning Record Store to receive the data.

Check your LMS documentation before you build anything. Almost every corporate LMS accepts SCORM 1.2, and most accept 2004.

Three ways to convert PowerPoint to e-learning

Route	Speed	Effort from your team	What learners get
Conversion tool or add-in	Minutes to hours	Low	Your slides, with navigation and tracking
Rebuild in an authoring tool	Weeks	High, and needs design skills	Depends on your team’s experience
Redesign by a developer	Days to weeks	Low: you review and sign off	Interactive modules built around the job

1. Export with a conversion tool

PowerPoint add-ins and authoring tools can import your slides and publish them as a SCORM package. It is the fastest route and fine for content people only need to read once, such as a short update or an announcement.

The catch is that the output is still a slide deck. Text-heavy slides become text-heavy screens, and the only interaction is clicking Next. Completion goes up on the report, but very little changes on the job.

2. Rebuild it yourself in an authoring tool

If you have the licences and someone with instructional design experience, you can rebuild the content properly in a dedicated authoring tool. You keep full control and can update it whenever you like.

The cost is time. Turning a 40-slide deck into a well-designed module means rewriting, building interactions, sourcing images, testing and getting sign-off. In most L&D teams that work competes with everything else on the list, and the backlog grows.

3. Have it redesigned and built for you

A developer takes your deck or manual, works out what people actually need to do with it, and builds an interactive module around that. You review drafts and approve the final version. This is the route that gives the best learner experience without tying up your own team, and it is the one we take with FastTrack.

Why straight conversions disappoint

PowerPoint decks and PDFs are written for a different job. A deck supports a trainer who adds the real knowledge out loud, and that knowledge usually sits in the speaker notes or in the trainer’s head. A PDF manual is built for reference, so it covers everything with equal weight.

Convert either one directly and you get a course that tells people everything and asks them to do nothing. Learners skim to the end, the LMS records a completion, and the same mistakes keep happening. If your current policy training works like this, our post on moving policy training beyond PDFs covers the warning signs.

What a good conversion changes

When we rebuild a deck or manual as e-learning, these are the changes that make the difference:

Start from the job. List the decisions and actions people get wrong today, then keep only the content that supports them.
Split it up. Long decks become short modules of 10 to 20 minutes, so people can finish one in a sitting.
Add practice. Scenarios, branching decisions and short knowledge checks give people a chance to apply the rule before they need it for real.
Assess properly. A final assessment with a sensible pass mark shows who understood it. Our guide to setting an e-learning quiz pass mark explains how to choose one.
Make it accessible. Captions, readable contrast, keyboard navigation and screen reader support, built to WCAG 2.2 level AA. UK public sector bodies must meet these accessibility requirements, and they are good practice for everyone else.
Work on any device. Responsive design, so staff on the shop floor or on the road can complete it on a phone.
Look like your organisation. Your branding, your terminology and real examples from your workplace.

Free checklist: PowerPoint to e-learning in 10 steps

A two-page PDF you can tick off as you convert your next deck, from learning outcomes to accessibility and SCORM.

How to prepare your PowerPoint or PDF before conversion

A little preparation saves a lot of rework, whichever route you choose:

Confirm you have the latest approved version of the content, and who owns it.
Mark the content that is mandatory, for example anything a regulator or auditor will ask about.
Collect the speaker notes and any trainer guides. This is often where the useful detail lives.
Write down the three to five mistakes you most want the training to prevent.
Describe the audience: their roles, how much they already know, and where and on what device they will take the course.
Ask your LMS administrator which SCORM version to publish, and whether there is a test area.
Agree who signs off the final module, and how quickly.

Test the SCORM package before launch

Never send a new package straight to every member of staff. Test it first:

Upload it to a test area of your LMS, or to a free trial of SCORM Cloud, which shows exactly what the course reports.
Check that completion, score and pass or fail are recorded the way you expect.
Close the course halfway through and reopen it, to confirm learners return to where they left off.
Try it on a phone, a tablet and a laptop, and with a screen reader.
Ask two or three people from the target audience to take it and tell you where they got stuck.

Keeping it up to date

Policies, procedures and products change, so plan for updates from the start. Keep the source files somewhere your team can find them, record which version is live, and decide who is responsible for spotting when a change is needed. When you replace a SCORM package, check with your LMS administrator whether existing completions carry over or whether staff need to retake it.

This is where many organisations fall behind. A course that was accurate at launch quietly goes out of date, and nobody has the time to rebuild it.

How Capytech does it

Our FastTrack service turns your PowerPoint decks, PDFs, manuals and policies into interactive e-learning in days, not months. Each module is redesigned around what your people need to do, built to WCAG standards, and published as SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004 or xAPI for your LMS. If you do not have an LMS, a branded one is included.

FastTrack runs on a fixed monthly fee with no upfront build cost, and content updates are unlimited, turned around within 48 hours. If you want a fully bespoke programme with scenarios, animation or AI tutors, see our custom e-learning development service.

The easiest way to judge the quality is to see your own content converted. Send us one document and we will build a free demo module from it.

Frequently asked questions

Can I convert PowerPoint to SCORM for free?

Some authoring tools offer free trials, and a few free converters exist. They will usually produce a slide-by-slide course with basic tracking. Test the package in your LMS or in SCORM Cloud before you rely on it, because free tools vary in how reliably they report completions.

Should I use SCORM 1.2 or SCORM 2004?

Use whichever your LMS supports best. SCORM 1.2 is the most widely supported and is the safe default. Choose SCORM 2004 if you need completion and pass or fail recorded separately, and xAPI if you need to track learning outside the LMS.

How long does it take to turn a PowerPoint into e-learning?

A straight export takes minutes. A properly redesigned module typically takes from a few days to a few weeks, depending on length, the amount of interaction and how quickly reviews come back. With FastTrack we build modules from your documents in days.

Will my LMS accept a SCORM file?

Almost every corporate learning management system accepts SCORM 1.2, and most accept SCORM 2004. You upload the zip file as a new course or activity. If you are unsure, ask your LMS administrator or test the file in a trial account first.

Can e-learning made from PowerPoint be accessible?

Yes, if it is built for it. That means captions or transcripts for audio and video, good colour contrast, full keyboard navigation and screen reader support, in line with WCAG 2.2 level AA. A straight slide export rarely meets this without extra work.

See your own training as e-learning, free

Send us one document and we will turn it into an interactive demo module, so you can judge the quality before you spend anything.

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7 October 2026

Consumer Duty Training: What the FCA Expects of Your Staff

There is no FCA rule headed “Consumer Duty training”, but the FCA clearly expects it. Its policy statement says the training firms give staff “should enable them to understand their obligations under the Duty and the individual conduct rules”, and the law already requires suitable training on the conduct rules. Since 2024 the FCA’s reviews have gone further, criticising training that is described in policies but not reflected in how staff behave. Consumer Duty training therefore has to change decisions, and you need evidence that it has.

This guide covers what the FCA has said about training under the Duty, who needs what, how to evidence it for your board, and what is changing in 2026.

The Consumer Duty in brief

The Consumer Duty is Principle 12 of the FCA’s Principles for Businesses: “A firm must act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers.” The detailed rules sit in PRIN 2A and have three parts:

Three cross-cutting rules: act in good faith towards retail customers, avoid causing foreseeable harm, and enable and support retail customers to pursue their financial objectives.
Four outcomes: products and services, price and value, consumer understanding, and consumer support.
Governance: at least once a year your board or equivalent must review and approve a report on whether the firm is delivering good outcomes.

The FCA published the rules in PS22/9 in July 2022. They applied from 31 July 2023 for products open to sale or renewal, and from 31 July 2024 for closed products.

Is Consumer Duty training mandatory?

Not as a standalone rule, but in practice you cannot comply without it. Three things make that clear.

The FCA’s own expectation. PS22/9 says: “The training that firms give to their staff should enable them to understand their obligations under the Duty and the individual conduct rules.”
The conduct rules. Individual Conduct Rule 6 says “You must act to deliver good outcomes for retail customers.” Under section 64B of FSMA, the steps a firm must take so that staff understand the conduct rules “include, in particular, the provision of suitable training.” The FCA’s guidance (FG22/5) notes the conduct rules apply to almost all employees except ancillary staff.
Competence. SYSC 5.1.1R requires firms to employ people with the skills, knowledge and expertise their responsibilities need.

Payment and e-money firms sit outside the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, but FG22/5 says they must still make sure their staff act in line with the Duty.

Who needs Consumer Duty training, and what each group needs

One generic module for everyone is the most common weakness. The FCA’s guidance asks boards how they make sure individuals, “including those in control and support functions”, understand their role in delivering the Duty. That means different content for different roles.

Group	What their training should focus on
Board and senior managers	Reading outcome data, challenging the annual board report, culture and incentives
Frontline and customer service	Complex conversations, spotting vulnerability, consumer support, avoiding sludge
Product and design	Product governance, target markets, fair value, the needs of vulnerable customers
Marketing and communications	Consumer understanding, testing communications, clear pricing information
Complaints, risk and compliance	Outcome monitoring, root cause analysis, acting on what the data shows

Vulnerability belongs in every group. PRIN 2A expects firms to help frontline staff identify information that could indicate vulnerability, and the FCA’s vulnerability guidance (FG21/1) says “All relevant staff should understand how their role affects the fair treatment of vulnerable consumers.” In March 2025 the FCA reported a lack of vulnerability training for product and design staff in particular.

What the FCA has found so far

The FCA has published a series of good and poor practice reviews since the Duty came in. The points on training are consistent:

February 2024, implementation review: some firms did “not train staff well enough in terms of having complex conversations with customers.”
December 2024, board reports: good reports included data on the number or proportion of staff who had completed training on Duty-related outcomes. An update for smaller firms in February 2026 suggested keeping clear records of training and noted that scenario-based training can help.
March 2025, consumer support: “Some firms failed to evidence appropriate training and other measures that enable their staff to understand their role in delivering good outcomes.”
March 2025, vulnerable customers: monitoring staff training records on their own “may not give a full understanding of the outcomes”.
July 2026, outcomes monitoring: one section is headed “Culture described and supported by training, but not reflected in behaviour or incentives”. The FCA found training often “amounts to describing a culture at a high level”, with no evidence of how it affects decisions.
September 2026, payments firms: some firms “had policies and training in place but were not always able to show how these were working in practice.”

The message is clear. A course that explains the Duty and records a completion is no longer enough. The FCA wants to see that people make different decisions as a result.

To see how your own programme measures up against these findings, take our free Consumer Duty training gap check: ten questions, a score out of 20 and the gaps to close.

What good Consumer Duty training looks like

From the reviews above, and from building compliance training for regulated organisations, these are the features that hold up:

Built around your products and customers. Use your own products, scripts, journeys and customer types. Generic examples teach the theory and leave staff to work out the application on a live call.
Scenario-based. Put people in the decisions they face: a customer who mentions a bereavement, a renewal price that looks out of line, a complaint that points to a product problem. Let them choose, see the consequence and try again.
Role-based paths. Shared foundations for everyone, then content for each group in the table above.
Assessment that tests judgement. Questions about what to do in a situation, not definitions. Our guide to setting an e-learning pass mark covers how to set the bar.
Short and current. Modules people can finish in a sitting, updated when products, processes or FCA findings change.
Connected to culture. Training sits alongside incentives, quality assurance and management conversations. On its own it will not shift behaviour, which is exactly what the FCA found.

Free checklist: Consumer Duty training in 10 checks

A two-page PDF to test your programme before your next board report: who needs training, what to cover and how to evidence it.

How to evidence training for your board report

FG22/5 lists “Training and competence records” as management information that can support the board’s assessment, including “remedial actions where staff knowledge or actions were found to be below expectations.” A useful training section in your board report covers:

completion and assessment results by role and team, not one firm-wide percentage
the scenarios or questions people found hardest, and what you changed as a result
links to outcome data, such as call quality findings, complaints themes and vulnerability flags
remedial training given where quality assurance found problems
how the training was updated after product changes or new FCA publications

Your LMS should give you most of this directly. If it can only report completions, that is a gap worth closing before the next board report.

What is changing in 2026

A few changes affect how firms organise Duty training:

The FCA no longer expects firms to have a board-level Consumer Duty champion, from 27 February 2025.
In December 2025 (PS25/21) the FCA removed the mandatory 15-hour CPD minimum for general insurance and pure protection staff. It said this was “not intended as a relaxation of the overall competence and training expectation.”
In June 2026 the FCA consulted in CP26/23 on clarifying the Duty’s scope, including for wholesale firms, distribution chains and business with non-UK customers. These are proposals, with a policy statement expected in 2027.

None of these reduce what the FCA expects from training for retail-facing staff.

How Capytech helps

We build FCA compliance e-learning around your own products, procedures and customers, with scenario-based modules for each role and assessments that test judgement. Reporting from the LMS gives you the training records your board report needs, by role and team.

Products and procedures change, so content has to keep up. With FastTrack, updates are unlimited and turned around within 48 hours, so training reflects how the firm works today. Courses can be delivered in English or any other language. See our financial services e-learning page for more.

Frequently asked questions

Is Consumer Duty training mandatory?

There is no standalone rule called Consumer Duty training. However, section 64B of FSMA requires suitable training on the conduct rules, including Conduct Rule 6, and the FCA’s policy statement says training should help staff understand their obligations under the Duty. In practice, firms need it to comply.

Who needs Consumer Duty training?

In firms under the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, the conduct rules apply to almost all employees except ancillary staff. That includes product, marketing, control and support staff as well as the front line. Payment and e-money firms are expected to make sure their staff act in line with the Duty too.

How often should Consumer Duty training be refreshed?

The FCA does not set a frequency. Many firms align refreshers with the annual board report cycle, and update training whenever products, procedures or FCA findings change.

Is a training completion rate enough evidence?

No. The FCA has criticised firms whose training was not reflected in behaviour, and said training records alone may not show outcomes. Combine completion and assessment data with quality assurance findings, complaints themes and the actions you took.

Does the Consumer Duty apply to B2B firms?

It can. The Duty covers firms that determine or materially influence outcomes for retail customers, even without a direct customer relationship. The FCA has consulted on clarifying the scope for wholesale firms and distribution chains, but those changes are still proposals.

Consumer Duty training your people will actually use

We build FCA compliance e-learning around your own products, customers and procedures, with the evidence your board report needs.

See financial services training

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7 October 2026

AI Literacy Training for Employees: A UK Guide for 2026
AI literacy training teaches staff what the AI tools they use can and cannot do, how to use them safely with company and customer data, and how to check what comes back. UK law has no specific duty to provide it. However, UK GDPR still applies to personal data typed into AI tools, and the EU AI Act’s AI literacy rule reaches UK organisations with an EU connection. Since 27 July 2026 that rule requires organisations to take measures to support AI literacy, rather than to guarantee a particular level.

This guide covers why AI literacy matters now, what the rules say in the UK and the EU, what training should cover and how to roll it out. To see whether the EU rule is likely to apply to you, use our free AI literacy checker.

Why AI literacy matters now

Staff are using AI at work whether or not their employer has planned for it. The Office for National Statistics reported in July 2026 that AI use among UK businesses with 10 or more employees had risen from around 12% to around 35% since late 2023. Only 11% of those businesses said more than half their workforce had received AI-related training.

Unapproved use is common too. In a survey of 2,003 UK employees commissioned by Microsoft and published in October 2025, 71% said they had used unapproved consumer AI tools at work. The National Cyber Security Centre has since written about the risks of this “shadow AI”.

The risks are practical ones:
- confidential or personal data pasted into public tools
- confident but wrong answers (hallucinations) passed on as fact
- people trusting output without checking it, known as automation bias
- decisions made with AI that nobody can explain afterwards
Training is the most direct way to reduce all four.

What the UK rules say

There is no UK equivalent of an AI literacy duty. The King’s Speech in May 2026 did not include an AI bill. Existing law still applies, though:
- Data protection. If staff put personal data into an AI tool, UK GDPR applies. The ICO, now formally the Information Commission, has warned that information given to chatbots can be accessed and used by the organisation that developed them, and it expects organisations to run needs-based data protection training. An AI policy is not a legal requirement, but the ICO says one helps you show compliance.
- Security. The NCSC’s advice is not to include sensitive information in queries to public LLMs, because the provider can see and store queries. Its guidance also says managers should know enough about AI risks to discuss them with key staff.
- Public sector. The government’s AI Playbook sets as its first principle that you know what AI is and what its limitations are.
Does the EU AI Act apply to UK organisations?

It can. Under Article 2, the AI Act applies to:
- providers placing AI systems on the EU market, wherever they are based
- deployers established in the EU, which includes a UK group’s EU subsidiaries and branches
- providers and deployers outside the EU where the output of the AI system is used in the EU
The European Commission has confirmed this scope applies to the AI literacy rule in Article 4. Whether a UK-only business is caught because its staff use AI on work later sent to EU clients is a matter of legal interpretation, so take advice if that describes you. Our free AI literacy checker gives a quick first view.

What Article 4 says after the July 2026 changes

Article 4 originally applied from 2 February 2025 and required providers and deployers to “take measures to ensure, to their best extent, a sufficient level of AI literacy” among staff. The EU’s Digital Omnibus changed that. Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 came into force on 27 July 2026 and rewrote Article 4 so that providers and deployers must “take measures to support the development of AI literacy” of their staff and others using AI on their behalf.

According to the Commission’s AI literacy questions and answers, the amended rule “does not require providers or deployers to guarantee any specific level of AI literacy of any individual.” Measures should still take account of people’s knowledge and experience, the context in which AI is used and the people affected.

On enforcement, national authorities supervise the rules from 2 August 2026. The AI Act sets no specific fine for Article 4, and penalties are left to member states. The Commission notes that sanctions “might, however, be more likely if there is proof of an incident due to lack of appropriate training.”

So the duty is lighter than it was, but it has not gone away. For UK organisations with EU operations or EU customers, a sensible training programme is both the compliant and the practical answer.

What AI literacy training should cover

The Commission suggests four starting points: a general understanding of AI across the organisation, clarity on your role as a provider or deployer, the risk level of the systems you use, and training tailored to staff knowledge and the context of use. In practice, a good programme covers:
1. What generative AI is and where it fails. How tools like ChatGPT, Copilot, Claude and Gemini produce answers, and why they can be fluent and wrong.
2. Your rules. Which tools are approved, what data can and cannot go into them, and who to ask.
3. Data protection and confidentiality. Personal data, client information, commercial secrets and what happens to a prompt once it is sent.
4. Checking output. Verifying facts, sources and calculations, and recognising automation bias.
5. Using AI well in each role. Practical tasks for HR, finance, sales, operations and customer service, so people see real benefit.
6. When not to use AI. Decisions about people, regulated advice and anything you would not want to explain later.
7. Reporting problems. What to do when output looks wrong or something sensitive has been shared.
The Commission’s own example is a member of staff using ChatGPT to write adverts or translate text. They “should be informed about the specific risks, for example hallucination.”

Who needs what

A tiered approach works best. Everyone needs the same safe foundation. Managers need enough to set expectations and discuss risks with their teams. Heavy users need role-specific skills. IT and security teams need the technical detail. Leaders need to understand the opportunities and the risks well enough to set policy.

If your organisation deploys a high-risk AI system under the AI Act, such as one used in recruitment, the staff overseeing it will need more specific training on human oversight once those rules apply. The Digital Omnibus pushed most high-risk obligations back to December 2027.

Records: what you need to keep

The Commission says “There is no need for a certificate. Organisations can keep an internal record of trainings and/or other guiding initiatives.” A sensible record shows who completed which training, when, how they performed on any assessment, and that they acknowledged your AI policy. An LMS with role-based reporting makes this straightforward.

How the Capytech AI Academy helps

The Capytech AI Academy gives every employee practical, safe AI skills in lessons of five to ten minutes. Everyone starts with the AI Licence, which covers the essentials of using AI safely at work, then moves on to deeper stages and role-based tracks. The content is tool-agnostic and covers Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini. Security runs through every stage, and dashboards show progress for learners, managers and the whole organisation.

The Academy is available in any language, so your whole workforce can learn in the language they work in. If you need lessons built around your own AI policy and approved tools, we can add those too.

Frequently asked questions

Is AI literacy training a legal requirement in the UK?
Not under UK law. There is no UK AI statute requiring it. UK GDPR still applies when staff put personal data into AI tools, and the Information Commission (still known as the ICO) expects needs-based data protection training. The EU AI Act’s AI literacy rule applies where your organisation has an EU connection.

Does the EU AI Act apply to UK companies?
It can. It applies if you place AI systems on the EU market, operate through an EU subsidiary or branch, or the output of your AI systems is used in the EU. The European Commission has confirmed this includes the AI literacy rule in Article 4.

Did the Digital Omnibus remove the AI literacy requirement?
No. Since 27 July 2026, Article 4 requires providers and deployers to take measures to support the AI literacy of their staff. It no longer requires them to ensure a sufficient level, and it does not require any specific level for any individual.

Do employees need an AI certificate?
No. The European Commission says no certificate is needed and that an internal record of training and guidance is enough.

Does everyday use of ChatGPT or Copilot count?
Yes. The Commission’s own example is a member of staff using ChatGPT for writing or translation, who should be told about specific risks such as hallucination. Everyday use is exactly where most risk sits.

What should AI literacy training cover?
At minimum: what AI tools can and cannot do, your approved tools and data rules, data protection, how to check output and avoid automation bias, practical use in each role, and how to report problems.

Train your whole team to use AI safely

The Capytech AI Academy gives every employee practical, safe AI skills in short lessons, available in any language.

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7 October 2026

Martyn’s Law Training: What the Act Requires and When

Martyn’s Law does not make training a legal requirement for either tier. The Home Office’s statutory guidance does say that staff with a role in your public protection procedures must be made aware of those procedures and their role, and that without training it is likely to be difficult to show your procedures are appropriate. The duties are expected to start in spring 2027, although no date has been set in law yet.

This guide explains what the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025 requires, what the official guidance says about training, who should be trained, and the free resources you should use first.

Martyn’s Law in brief

The Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025, known as Martyn’s Law, received Royal Assent on 3 April 2025. The Security Industry Authority (SIA) is the regulator.

Standard tier: premises where it is reasonable to expect 200 to 799 people to be present at the same time from time to time. Staff count towards the total.
Enhanced tier: premises where 800 or more people may be present.
Qualifying public events: events with 800 or more people, public access and entry checks such as tickets or paid entry.
Always standard tier: places of worship, childcare premises, schools and further education settings stay in the standard tier whatever their capacity.

Not sure which tier applies to your venue? Use our free Martyn’s Law tier checker.

The government committed to an implementation period of at least 24 months. The SIA says it expects the Act to come into force in spring 2027 and will confirm the exact date in advance. Premises already in scope will have three months from that date to notify the SIA.

Is Martyn’s Law training a legal requirement?

No. The Home Office’s statutory guidance is direct about it:

“There is no statutory requirement in the Act for the responsible person, or for staff working at qualifying premises and qualifying events, to carry out specific training, learning or instruction related to counter-terrorism or the Act’s requirements.”

The same paragraph says staff with roles in the procedures “must be made aware of the procedures and their specific role”. The guidance goes on to say that if staff are not informed or trained, “it is likely to be difficult for the responsible person to demonstrate that appropriate and reasonably practicable procedures are in place.”

An earlier draft of the Bill did include a training requirement for all premises in scope. The government removed it in 2024, and the Act as passed has no training duty for either tier.

The guidance is also clear that paying for training is optional: “It is not mandatory to pay for third-party training or learning to comply with the Act’s requirements.” It warns against courses that cost thousands of pounds and claim to make attendees compliant. Only the SIA decides whether a premises complies, so be wary of anyone who says a course will do that for you.

What standard tier premises must do

Standard tier premises have two duties:

Notify the SIA that the premises is in scope.
Have public protection procedures, so far as is reasonably practicable, to be followed by the people working there in the event of an attack. They cover four areas:

evacuation
invacuation (moving people to a safer place inside)
lockdown (preventing entry or exit)
communication (giving information to people on site)

The Act does not require a written document for the standard tier, but the guidance says one should be prepared. Writing procedures down is also the easiest way to train people on them consistently.

What enhanced tier premises and events must do

Enhanced tier premises and qualifying events must do everything above, plus:

put in place public protection measures covering monitoring, the movement of people, physical security and information security
send a document of compliance to the SIA and keep it up to date
appoint a designated senior individual where the responsible person is an organisation

For the enhanced tier the guidance says training needs and evidence of training “should be documented”, and it treats training records as a necessary element of the document of compliance.

Who should be trained, and on what

The guidance says training should suit each person’s role, and that good practice is for all staff to be “trained to be alert to suspicious items and behaviours, know how to report concerns”. In practice that means:

Who	What they need
All staff, including casual, agency and volunteer staff	Spotting and reporting suspicious items and behaviour, and what to do when the procedures are triggered
Staff with a role in the procedures	Their specific role in evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication at your premises
Duty managers and supervisors	Making decisions under pressure, starting the procedures, directing staff and the public
The responsible person and senior individual	The duties under the Act, keeping procedures current, records and working with the SIA

Casual and agency staff are easy to miss. Large venues may have hundreds of people on site who were not there last month, so plan how they will be trained before their first shift.

Training on its own is not enough. Practise the procedures with drills and walk-throughs, so people know the routes, the signals and who makes the call.

Free training you should use first

Before paying for anything, use the free official resources. ProtectUK offers free e-learning (registration needed), including:

ACT Awareness: about 45 minutes, for all staff
ACT for Education: about 60 minutes, for staff in education settings
ACT Security: about 90 minutes, for frontline security staff
Faith Security Training: about 60 minutes, for places of worship

Counter Terrorism Security Advisers also run ACT sessions, subject to availability. The Home Office has published guidance and supplementary documents, and the SIA is publishing its own guidance, templates and a scope checking tool.

Where site-specific training helps

The free courses build general awareness. They do not cover your building, your procedures or who does what at your venue, and they do not keep a record of who is ready across several sites. That is the gap most organisations need to fill.

Capytech’s Martyn’s Law Academy trains every member of staff on your own procedures, from foundation awareness through to the people who lead and are accountable for them. The Martyn’s Law Register keeps track of who is trained at each premises and the drills you have run, so the evidence is in one place when the SIA asks. Neither makes you compliant on its own. They make it much easier to show that your procedures are known, practised and working.

Penalties

The SIA can issue compliance notices, and for the enhanced tier and events, restriction notices. Maximum penalties under the Act are:

Standard tier: up to £10,000, plus up to £500 a day for continuing failures
Enhanced tier and events: up to £18 million or 5% of qualifying worldwide revenue, whichever is greater, plus up to £50,000 a day

The SIA has said it will not charge for notifications or inspections.

A practical timeline

Now: work out whether your premises are in scope, counting staff, and which tier applies.
Next: write or review your procedures for evacuation, invacuation, lockdown and communication.
Then: train everyone, using the free ProtectUK courses for awareness and site-specific training for your procedures and roles.
Before go-live: run drills, fix what they reveal and keep records.
When the Act commences: notify the SIA within three months if your premises are already in scope.

Frequently asked questions

Is Martyn’s Law training a legal requirement?

No. The Act does not require specific training for either tier. However, staff with roles in your public protection procedures must be made aware of the procedures and their role, and the statutory guidance says it will be difficult to show your procedures are appropriate if staff are not informed or trained.

Do we need a paid or accredited Martyn’s Law course?

No. The statutory guidance says it is not mandatory to pay for third-party training to comply. Free ProtectUK courses cover general awareness. Paid training is worth it only where it covers your own procedures and roles, or saves you time managing training and records.

Who should receive Martyn’s Law training?

Everyone working at the premises should be able to spot and report suspicious items and behaviour, and know what to do when procedures are triggered. Staff with specific roles in the procedures need training on those roles, and managers need to know how and when to start them.

Do we need to keep training records?

For enhanced tier premises and events, the guidance treats training records as a necessary part of the document of compliance. For the standard tier no record is legally required, but keeping one is the simplest way to show your procedures are known.

When does Martyn’s Law come into force?

No date has been set in law yet. The SIA expects the Act to come into force in spring 2027 and has said it will confirm the exact date in advance.

Is a large school or place of worship in the enhanced tier?

No. Schools, further education settings, childcare premises and places of worship stay in the standard tier whatever their capacity.

Get your people Martyn’s Law ready

The Martyn’s Law Academy trains every member of staff on your procedures, and the Martyn’s Law Register keeps the evidence in one place.

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7 October 2026

How to Improve Consistency in Online Training in the UK

For a UK organisation delivering training across several teams, offices or sites, keeping the learner experience consistent can be harder than it first appears. A new starter in Manchester should not receive a completely different training experience from a colleague in Birmingham simply because the content was created by different teams at different times.

Consistency matters because learners need to understand what is expected of them, where to find information and how training connects to their role. It also makes it easier for organisations to maintain quality, meet training requirements and keep learning content up to date.

Creating that consistency takes more than using the same logo on every course. It requires agreed standards covering content, design, technology, accessibility, assessment and delivery. Here are practical ways UK organisations can build greater consistency into their online training programmes.

Start with a Clear Learning Strategy

Before creating individual e-learning modules, establish what the wider training programme needs to achieve. Clear learning objectives give content developers a common direction and help prevent separate courses from becoming disconnected.

For example, a large employer might have different training covering health and safety, information security, induction and management development. Each course may serve a different purpose, but they should still fit within the organisation’s overall learning strategy.

Clear objectives also make it easier to assess whether training is achieving the intended results. They can support better decisions about content, assessments and follow-up activities, while helping organisations get more value from their training investment.

Build a Consistent Visual Identity

Learners should be able to recognise that different courses belong to the same organisation. Your corporate identity is a good starting point.

Use agreed colours, typography, imagery and layouts across your e-learning materials. These elements should reflect the organisation’s existing communications rather than making every training course look as though it has been produced by a different supplier or department.

A consistent visual approach is particularly useful for organisations with large workforces, multiple departments or training delivered across different locations.

Create an E-Learning Design Standard

A corporate brand guide does not always provide enough detail for digital learning. Consider creating an additional set of standards specifically for e-learning.

This could define how navigation works, how buttons appear, how headings and on-screen text are presented, how video content begins and ends, and how knowledge checks are structured.

Having these decisions documented reduces guesswork. It also gives internal teams and external e-learning partners a clear reference point when developing new courses.

Agree on the Right Tone of Voice

Visual consistency is only part of the learner experience. The language used throughout your training should feel consistent too.

One course might use highly formal language while another addresses learners in a friendly, conversational style. Either approach can work, but switching between them without a clear reason can make an organisation’s training programme feel disjointed.

Set expectations for tone, terminology and writing style. For example, a UK organisation may decide that most employee training should use plain English, short sentences and direct instructions. Specialist terminology can still be used where it is necessary for the subject.

Standardise How Content Is Presented

Once your design and tone have been established, apply those principles consistently to the actual learning content.

Standardised templates can help with recurring elements such as introductions, learning objectives, scenarios, videos, knowledge checks and course completion screens. This does not mean every course has to look identical. Instead, learners should recognise familiar patterns as they move between different areas of training.

For example, an employee completing an induction module on Monday and a health and safety course later in the week should not have to learn a completely new navigation system each time.

Use an LMS That Supports Consistent Delivery

The learning management system is central to how online training is delivered, particularly when employees work across different offices, sites or working arrangements.

A suitable LMS should provide a consistent way for learners to access courses, complete assessments and track their progress. It should also work effectively across common desktop and mobile devices.

A platform such as the Capytech LMS can provide a central environment for managing online learning and supporting consistent delivery across an organisation. Bringing training into one managed environment can also make it easier for learning teams to monitor completion and maintain course records.

Make Accessibility Part of the Standard

Consistency should include accessibility. Learners should not receive a significantly different experience because they have a particular access requirement or use a different device.

Accessible e-learning should be considered from the design stage rather than added as an afterthought. This includes appropriate use of colour and contrast, readable text, meaningful navigation, captions where needed and content that can work with assistive technologies.

UK organisations should also consider their wider equality and accessibility responsibilities when developing digital learning. Designing with a broad range of learners in mind helps create training that is more usable for everyone.

Test Courses Before They Go Live

A course that looks correct on the developer’s computer may not behave in exactly the same way for every learner. Quality checks should therefore be part of the development process.

Review the content for accuracy, broken links, navigation problems, spelling and presentation issues. Test assessments and completion tracking, and check that the course works as expected on the devices and browsers used by the organisation.

For regulated or safety-related learning, content should also be reviewed by the appropriate subject matter experts. This is particularly important where training supports workplace responsibilities, professional standards or health and safety requirements.

Keep Training Content Under Review

Consistency is not achieved once a course has been published. Policies, procedures, legislation, internal systems and job roles change over time.

Set a review process for online training so that outdated information is identified and updated. Assign responsibility for reviewing important courses and keep track of when content was last checked.

This is particularly relevant for training that covers areas such as data protection, workplace safety and employment practices. UK organisations may need to consider requirements relating to the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018, as well as guidance from bodies such as the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), depending on the subject.

Prepare Instructors and Support Teams

Online learning does not always mean learning without people. Many organisations use blended programmes where employees complete digital modules alongside workshops, coaching or instructor-led sessions.

This can introduce another source of inconsistency. Different instructors may explain the same subject in different ways or place different emphasis on particular topics.

Providing instructors with appropriate guidance and training can help. Give them clear learning outcomes, supporting materials and expectations for how sessions should be delivered. This helps ensure that classroom, virtual and online components reinforce rather than contradict one another.

Use Learner Feedback to Find Gaps

The people taking your courses can often identify inconsistencies that the development team has overlooked.

Ask learners whether the instructions were clear, whether the course was easy to use and whether different modules felt connected. Feedback can also reveal practical issues, such as confusing terminology, inconsistent navigation or content that does not reflect how employees actually work.

Regular feedback gives learning teams useful information for improving future courses and maintaining a more consistent experience.

Consider UK Compliance and Quality Expectations

UK organisations also need to consider the context in which their training is being delivered. Depending on the organisation and subject, this could involve expectations around data protection, workplace health and safety, regulated qualifications or education and training provision.

For example, organisations delivering regulated qualifications may need to work within requirements set by Ofqual or an awarding organisation. Employers delivering workplace safety training should consider relevant HSE guidance. Apprenticeship and funded training programmes may also involve specific requirements and quality expectations.

The exact requirements will depend on the type of organisation and training being provided. The important point is to build compliance and quality checks into the training process rather than treating them as a final review.

Make Consistency an Ongoing Process

A consistent online training programme is easier for learners to use, easier for learning teams to manage and easier for organisations to maintain as their needs change.

The goal is not to make every course identical. Different subjects require different teaching approaches. Instead, consistency should provide learners with familiar standards for design, language, navigation, accessibility and delivery.

By setting clear objectives, documenting design standards, using an appropriate LMS, testing content and regularly reviewing learner feedback, UK organisations can create a more coherent learning experience across their training portfolio.

For organisations developing custom e-learning, AI-powered learning tools or specialist workplace training, these principles provide a strong foundation for creating learning that remains consistent as the programme grows.

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5 October 2026
Competency-Based Training: UK E-Learning Best Practices

For many UK employers, successful training is still measured by familiar metrics: how many people started a course, how many finished it and whether they passed the final assessment. Those figures have their place, but they do not necessarily show whether someone can do the job safely, accurately or confidently.

Competency-based training takes a different approach. Rather than asking every employee to complete exactly the same learning, it starts by identifying the skills and behaviours people need to demonstrate. A new starter might need a full learning journey, while an experienced employee may only need a short refresher or targeted practice.

What does competency-based training mean?

Competency-based training is designed around the outcome of learning rather than course completion. The aim is to help each person reach a defined standard of knowledge, skill or behaviour.

That changes how e-learning is designed and delivered. Learners can be assessed before training begins, given only the content they need, and reassessed as their capability develops.

For a UK organisation, this could apply to anything from health and safety and data protection to management development, customer service or technical training. The same principle applies: identify what competent performance looks like, then build the learning journey around it.

Start by defining what competence looks like

Before developing the course, set out the competencies learners are expected to achieve.

Avoid broad objectives such as “understand the company’s health and safety procedures”. Instead, define what someone should actually be able to do. For example, they might need to identify workplace hazards, choose the correct control measure and report an incident using the organisation’s procedure.

You also need to decide what evidence will demonstrate that the required level has been reached. This is separate from deciding how you will assess it. First establish the standard. Then choose the most suitable assessment method.

Clear competency statements also make it easier for instructional designers, subject matter experts and managers to agree on what the training is supposed to achieve.

Assess existing skills before assigning training

A learner should not automatically receive every module simply because it is part of the course.

Begin with a skills or knowledge assessment where appropriate. This might involve knowledge questions, realistic scenarios, practical tasks or an assessment completed away from the LMS. For some roles, observation or manager assessment may also be needed.

The results can then determine the learner’s route through the programme. Someone who already demonstrates the required capability may need little or no additional learning. Another employee may need one or two modules, while a new starter could require the complete programme.

This approach can save employees from sitting through material they already know while giving additional support to people who need it.

Make the learning journey personal

Once you know what a learner can already do, use that information to shape their training.

Modular e-learning works particularly well for competency-based programmes because individual components can be included, skipped or revisited according to need. A learner who has demonstrated competence in one area can move on, while someone who needs more practice can receive additional scenarios, explanations or assessments.

Personalisation does not have to mean creating a completely different course for every employee. A well-designed programme can use branching, diagnostic assessments and modular content to create different routes through the same learning environment.

An LMS such as the Capytech LMS can then help organisations manage learners, monitor results and maintain a clearer picture of capability across teams.

Tell learners what they need to achieve

People are more likely to engage with training when they understand its purpose.

At the start of the programme, explain what learners are expected to achieve, how their current capability will be assessed and what happens if they have already demonstrated competence.

This is particularly important when the learning journey is not identical for everyone. An employee who skips several modules needs to understand that this is a result of their demonstrated capability, not a shortcut through mandatory training.

For UK employers, the message should be simple: the objective is not to spend a certain number of hours completing e-learning. It is to demonstrate that the person can perform to the required standard.

Use realistic scenarios to test application

Knowing information is not the same as being able to apply it.

Scenario-based activities can help bridge that gap by putting learners into situations that resemble their actual responsibilities. A local council employee could work through a data protection scenario. A healthcare team might respond to a safety incident. A manager could practise handling a difficult performance conversation.

These activities give learners an opportunity to make decisions before they have to make them at work. They can also provide richer evidence of competence than a series of simple recall questions.

AI-powered learning tools can add another layer of practice, for example by allowing learners to interact with an AI tutor or respond to simulated workplace situations. The technology should support the competency being measured, rather than being included simply because it is available.

Track capability, not just completion

Traditional e-learning reporting often focuses on whether someone has started or completed a course.

For competency-based training, that is only part of the picture. You also need to understand how the learner is progressing towards the required standard.

Regular assessments can show whether a learner has developed the necessary knowledge and skills. They can also reveal where additional training is needed and whether the learner’s route through the programme remains appropriate.

This creates a more useful set of questions for L&D teams. Has the employee reached the required standard? Which competencies still need work? Does the learner need more content, more practice or support from their manager?

Give feedback that helps people improve

An assessment should do more than produce a pass or fail result.

When a learner makes an incorrect decision, explain what went wrong and why the alternative was more appropriate. Where possible, connect the feedback to the competency the learner is developing.

Detailed feedback turns assessment into another learning opportunity. It also makes it easier for employees to understand what they need to change before attempting the assessment again.

For scenario-based training, feedback can be especially useful. Instead of simply marking an answer incorrect, the course can explain the potential workplace consequence of the decision and give the learner another opportunity to approach the situation.

Consider UK compliance and accessibility from the start

Competency-based training often deals with areas where organisations need clear evidence of learning, including health and safety, data protection and regulated professional activity.

For example, learning involving personal data should reflect the organisation’s responsibilities under the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018. Health and safety training should also reflect the organisation’s duties and relevant Health and Safety Executive guidance.

Accessibility needs attention at the design stage too. Consider readable layouts, suitable colour contrast, captions or transcripts, keyboard access and alternatives where information would otherwise depend solely on audio, colour or animation.

For organisations delivering training across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, examples and terminology should also be checked carefully so that the course is appropriate for the intended workforce.

Review the programme using performance data

Competency-based training should not be treated as finished when the course goes live.

Review assessment results, learner feedback and workplace performance to identify where the programme could be improved. Look for patterns. Are learners repeatedly struggling with the same competency? Are particular modules being revisited? Are managers reporting the same performance issues after training?

This information can be used to improve the assessment, content and learning pathways.

A rapid development approach can also help where policies, procedures or regulatory requirements change. Capytech’s FastTrack service, for example, is designed to turn organisational policies and procedures into interactive e-learning and keep that content up to date.

Build training around the capability your organisation needs

The strongest competency-based programmes start with a simple question: what does a competent employee need to be able to do?

From there, organisations can assess existing capability, provide targeted learning, give learners opportunities to practise and track progress against a defined standard.

That approach can work across many UK workplaces, from NHS Trusts and local authorities to professional services firms and FTSE companies. It can also sit alongside broader development programmes, including recognised qualifications and professional training.

For organisations that need bespoke learning, Capytech provides custom e-learning, AI-powered learning tools, the Capytech LMS and FastTrack development. It also offers IOSH Working Safely, delivered 100% online.

The key is to focus less on how much training someone has completed and more on what they can demonstrate afterwards. When the learning journey is built around genuine workplace capability, e-learning becomes a way to develop and measure skills, rather than simply another box to tick.

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29 September 2026

Tag: UK

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