PIVOT is a unique, single-dashboard system used for running large-scale training and apprenticeship schemes. A combination of three award-winning systems, it features a user-friendly front end for learners backed up by e-portfolio technology and assessment tools that combine qualifications, learning management reporting, and funding, all in one place.

Until this latest release, when a learner uploaded proof of learning, it was down to a team of administrators to place it with the right assessor. With the release of PIVOT 1.6, files now flow between the learner front end and online assessment tools: efficiency has been increased, stability has been added, and the risk of human error has been removed.

The latest upgrade also includes a suite of back-office applications that monitor all three systems. Rather than wait to hear that there's a problem, feedback can be proactively managed by the team, who fix issues before they impact users.

But the 1.6 upgrade not only made PIVOT more efficient: it also gave developers the chance to try a new "My Team" function, which gives assessors an overview of their learners. At a glance, they see when someone last logged in, any outstanding messages, and overdue tasks. This will help employers to improve communication and ultimately learner engagement.

Crucially, all of these changes have come about in response to user feedback. The involvement of end users in an mls’s development is key to its ongoing success, and a development roadmap keeps track of every idea.

The organisational aim remains to put digital at the heart of new standard apprenticeships, and with this in mind, by the middle of 2016, City & Guilds Kineo will have issued two further PIVOT upgrades. The mls users will benefit from even more back-office tools and an improved individual learning plan (ILP).

All these great ideas have been inspired by users and the ever-changing market.