Functional Skills Test Platform for Training Qualifications UK (TQUK)

Training Qualifications UK (TQUK) is a pioneer in technical education. Established in 2013, TQUK has focused its efforts on becoming the best in the industry for providing vocational education services.

Business Needs

TQUK needed a solution to deliver functional skills exams in Math and English for apprenticeship learners.

The following were some key challenges:

• Provide a solution to deliver remote invigilated exams at scale and on demand
• Short 6 – 7 month-window to implement a custom solution and go live
• Compliance with stringent regulatory requirements while remaining cost-effective and flexible
• Develop new math item types and custom workflows for remote-invigilated and onscreen marking modules

Solution Highlights

• Over six months, the teams worked together to specify, design, build, and test the necessary components, leading to successful early piloting.
• New item types for math and an alternative workflow for the online invigilation and on screen marking platform were implemented.
• Excelsoft’s ability to scale bandwidth demands ensured that the monitoring evidence did not affect the learners’ test experience, crucial for reliability of online invigilation.
• Recognising that many functional skills learners lacked reliable internet access, the assessment platform and invigilation tool were optimised for low-bandwidth.