Case highlights
- Allowed 3B Training to offer a new CSCS assessment with a high degree of security
- Saved time for both candidates and 3B Training by facilitating online testing
- Helped move other assessments from traditional pen-and-paper to an online model
- Saved time on marking and reporting
- Placed the organization in a good place for future development
Tools used
- Proctoring
- Reporting
- Multiple Choice Test
Scenario
3B Training is a multi-accredited health and safety training company offering high-quality accredited courses online via Zoom throughout the UK. They operate primarily within the construction industry – though not exclusively – and provide nationally recognized accreditations such as CITB, CISRS, UKATA, and ProQual NVQs to name but a few.
Operating for well over a decade now, 3B Training are experts in the field of providing health and safety training and are always looking for ways to improve their offerings, which is what led them to Questionmark almost two years ago.
Tackling the CSCS card challenge
A key challenge 3B Training wished to solve was the ability to offer Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) cards in a highly secure way that was also a fast process for the candidate.
The purpose of the CSCS cards within the industry is to easily identify who is authorized to be present on construction sites. Unfortunately, these cards have been the target of fraudulent activity in the past and have resulted in some people gaining access to these potentially dangerous environments who shouldn’t have been there. Understandably, 3B Training were keen to find a solution that would help them safeguard against this potential occurrence while also meeting their need of delivering the assessment online.
Tackling the Time-Intensive Process
Along with the safety concerns surrounding the issuing of these cards was the drawn-out process in getting a candidate certified to own one. Typically, the process entails sitting one exam with a company like 3B Training and then having to wait and visit another training centre on a separate occasion to sit what’s known as the health, safety and environment test.
“The key requirement was the security of the assessment, but we also wanted to come up with a solution where you could do all of the process in one day rather than having to do it as two separate appointments. And ideally online as well.”
Rob Boardman, Head of Learning Experience, 3B Training
Until the safety and speed challenges could be fixed, 3B Training were hesitant to offer this assessment to their audience, which became a big driving force in them finding a company to support this venture.
Solution
Helping 3B Training launch their CSCS card assessment meant primarily tackling the security concerns surrounding the online delivery of the test. 3B Training wanted to be certain their offering was designed with security in mind and with the move to Questionmark, were able to lean on our Proctoring solutions for this purpose.
Providing a Powerful Proctoring Solution
To maximize security and allow 3B Training to confidently roll out their new CSCS offering, we recommended our Record and Review Proctoring solution. Record and Review is a powerful automated system that records the exam session on video which can be reviewed at a later stage. Suspicious activity (such as a second person on screen) is flagged automatically and will prompt the administrator to review the video. Not only is this an excellent solution for online scalability, but it offers a great deal of flexibility for candidates too, both of which appealed to 3B and actively helped them identify fraudulent activity:
“Attempts to cheat are rare but we have identified irregularities using Questionmark which caused the cards to not be issued.”
Rob Boardman, Head of Learning Experience, 3B Training
Saving Time with Online Delivery
Along with safeguarding against malpractice, which was a key challenge, was the benefit of saving time. As 3B informed us, the issuing of CSCS cards typically takes three steps, from the two necessary assessments on different days and at different locations to the actual issuing of the card. With our online assessment solution combined with proctoring capabilities, however, this time-intensive process was radically reduced:
“I don’t think there’s any doubt that overall, it is quicker to do it this way as well as all the other benefits to us as a business such as attracting people to our courses from all over the country. In terms of the time saved — a lot of our delegates are self-employed, and taking two days off versus one day is a big deal for them. This way it’s quicker for the delegate and it’s quicker for the client too. Plus, we also include the card as part of it at the end, which again often is another separate part of the process.”
Rob Boardman, Head of Learning Experience, 3B Training
This time-saving benefit also was felt when it came to the marking process of assessments, which traditionally had been more labor-intensive:
“I think there are certainly benefits when it comes to the multiple-choice option —there’s no marking whatsoever when we do it through Questionmark, where before, we’d have to do all those in the classroom. We also use the coaching report just to check our results as well.”
Rob Boardman, Head of Learning Experience, 3B Training
Future-Proofing the Business
Lastly, 3B Training were not just looking for a solution that solved their challenges now, but one they could see helping them tackle fresh ones on the horizon.
“We did look at some different options at the time, but the reason we ended up going with Questionmark is not only did it provide a solution for us for the product right now, but for me, it was also easier to envisage how it could potentially integrate with products in the future.”
Rob Boardman, Head of Learning Experience, 3B Training
A Seamless and Supportive Process
While the initial move to new software is always somewhat daunting, it’s one that Rob of 3B Training felt was hugely worthwhile in the long run:
“Despite the fact that this technology can be daunting for some users, our experience has been that over time, as we’ve learned more about it, the more we’ve been able to support our delegates. In fact, the responses and scores that we get are just as good as we would expect in a classroom.”
Rob Boardman, Head of Learning Experience, 3B Training
Similarly, while the learning curve for individuals can be challenging with any new software, it’s something that 3B Training felt Questionmark handled well:
“In terms of the customer relationship, Joe and I have had regular meetings over the over the past two years. I’m confident that Questionmark understand our use case and there’s been a few times where we’ve also had some of the technical team on to help us to get to get the most out of the software as well.”
Rob Boardman, Head of Learning Experience, 3B Training
Results
With the transition to Questionmark, 3B Training were able to tackle the challenges surrounding the launch of a CSCS card assessment in a way that was secure, speedy to deliver and online based for efficiency and accessibility. It also helped 3B Training speed up their processes in general, provide more flexibility to their test takers and put them in a good position to navigate future developments and assessment needs.
When asked to outline what 3B Training would say to another organization considering moving to Questionmark’s online platform, Rob had this to say:
“I would say, if you’ve got a client base where the benefits are obvious — even if there’s some trepidation over using the software — it’s been worth it for us. We operate in an industry where, when it comes to the technology and training, things aren’t always as advanced as they are in other industries. I think if we managed to make this work for this type of qualification then I can see the pain points not necessarily being the same for some other industries.”
Rob Boardman, Head of Learning Experience, 3B Training
By switching to Questionmark’s online platform, 3B Training was able to:
- Offer a new CSCS card assessment that met their security and time-saving requirements
- Save time on processes like marking and analysis with products like Questionmark’s Coaching Report
- Identified attempts to gain CSCS cards fraudulently with Questionmark’s Record and Review Proctoring solution
- Future-proofed their business with an assessment solution designed to grow and develop with them
To discover how Questionmark could transform your learning and development process, talk to us today.
