Want to find out more about how e-certificates can help you improve your internal efficiencies, save time and money and ensure you avoid problems related to future lockdowns? We’re running a free webinar on Wednesday 30th September at 11am to teach you everything you need to know about our paperless certification solution. Sign up today to book your place!
Over the last few months, everyone has had to embrace digital solutions and do away with traditional methods, but this has been nothing new for us here at Training Qualifications UK.
We pride ourselves on innovation and have always taken a forward-thinking approach to awarding and End-Point Assessment, whether that’s our early adoption of remote assessment, our Verve digital management systems or our e-certificates.
E-certificates are digital versions of our traditional printed certificates, and we’ve been using them since 2016, when we introduced them for our First Aid qualifications. Since then, we’ve expanded their use to cover all of our qualifications, and centres have loved using them.
We’re really passionate about our e-certs and are on a mission to get as many people as possible using them. Here are just a few reasons why we believe they’re the best way forward for you.
They save time and money
We all know about the cost associated with delivery. Postage and packaging isn’t cheap, especially when cargo as precious as certificates is being carried. E-certs wing their way to you via the magic of the internet, so it goes without saying that ‘delivery’ is free; us hitting that big ‘SEND’ button won’t set you back a penny!
But there are other, less obvious, savings too; notably to your internal processes. Without printed certificates heading your way, you don’t need to take the time and effort to process them, organise them and dispatch them to your learners. Even better, we can send them to your learners direct, so you don’t need to spend even a single second of your time dealing with them.
More time to fix up that all-important morning brew.
They’re fast
Speed is of the essence these days, and that’s not going to change any time soon.
It’s why we pride ourselves on our ability to get printed certificates out to you within 48 hours. Your learners don’t have to wait to enjoy the fruits of their labour and you can fully focus on those who are at the start of their learning journey.
But what if we could go faster? What if we could cut those 48 hours in half?
E-certificates don’t need to be boxed up and wait for a courier to come and pick them up; this is why 99.9% of e-certificates are received within 24 hours.
No nervous tracking code monitoring, no anxious calls to the courier. Just fast, fuss-free certificates.
They’re COVID-safe
At the moment, it’s difficult to predict how COVID will impact our lives going forwards. Local lockdowns seem likely to be a feature across the coming months, and the winter may even bring another national lockdown.
It’s critical to stay safe and prepare as much as possible, and our e-certs can help.
By having certificates sent digitally, rather than as pieces of paper that you, your learners and countless others will be touching, e-certs help minimise touchpoints and therefore limit the chances for COVID to spread.
They also ensure that the wheels keep turning in the event of further lockdowns, and any potential impact upon postal services. Not even the coronavirus can stop an email zipping its way to you.
They’re easy and convenient
Whether you’re the next Bill Gates or still pining for the days of the abacus, e-certs are as simple as our printed certificates. In fact, they may be even simpler!
To switch from printed certificates, all you need to do is log in to the Verve management system, tick the e-certs box and you’re set. It’s as easy as doing your shopping online – and you don’t have to put up with those annoying substitutions!
Learners also benefit from this ease and convenience. E-certs are delivered to their email inbox, and they can keep it stored in there, or download them to whatever device they choose.
So if they ever need to show their certificate to anyone (for example, a job interviewer) there’s no awkward fumbling around or dread that the certificate might get damaged or lost. It’ll always be there, safe and sound, and can be easily re-sent if they ever accidentally delete it.
They’re lightweight
The more digitally-savvy among you may be worrying about the impact of all those e-certs on your servers. Won’t a bulk of digital files take up space and ultimately end up being more troublesome than printed certificates in the long run?
When developing our e-certs, we anticipated this problem and that’s why they aren’t sent as bulky PDFs. Instead, they’re securely stored in the cloud, so when they’re sent to you and your learners, they arrive as simple hyperlinks.
You and your learners can download them as PDFs if you like, but when they’re sent from us to you, they won’t take up any space at all.
They’re as official as printed certificates
Some people like the tactile feel and sense of authenticity you get with a printed certificate. We get that. A certificate is a point of pride, proof of achievement and critical for helping land a job. They need to look and feel 100% official.
Our e-certs are slightly different to our printed certificates in that they don’t have the hologram in the bottom left corner. They do, however, have a QR code in that area. When they scan this, learners are taken to a verification page where they can confirm authenticity within seconds.
This can also be done manually by heading to our homepage, clicking Fast Support on the right of the screen, selecting Verify Certificate and putting in your details. But the QR code is faster, smoother and altogether more efficient, giving your learners the assurance they’re looking for in no time at all!
They’re environmentally-friendly
Did you know that every person in the UK uses just under 4.5 trees-worth of paper each year? Or that if everyone in the country recycles just 10% more paper every year, around 5 million trees would be saved?
We here at TQUK are always looking for ways to cut down our use of paper, and our e-certs are part of that drive. By using e-certs instead of printed certificates, you’ll be helping us help the planet, and keep it lush and green for generations to come. Eat your heart out Greta!
So that’s why we’re so passionate about e-certs; what about you? Do you have any questions? Are you uhming and aahing, ready to take the leap but still not quite sure if e-certs are right?
No worries! On Wednesday 30th September at 11am, we’ll be running a webinar that’ll run through the process of switching to and using e-certs. This will also be an opportunity to ask us any questions that we’ve not answered in this post. Sign up by using this link.
Of course, you don’t need to wait until then if you’ve got a burning problem you need an answer to right away. Our friendly service team is available every working day either on the phone (0333 358 3344) or via email, so just get in touch with your dedicated client relationship officer and they’ll be happy to offer whatever help you need.
