DIGITALLY TRANSFORMING SECURITY TRAINING OPERATIONS

Overview

Qualhub is a digital platform designed to replace the paper-based workflow of a UK-based security training company. This platform empowers trainers and learners to seamlessly manage assessments, compliance, attendance, and documentation in real-time — all through a web and mobile solution.
The project was a full-scale digital transformation that resulted in over £480,000 in paper savings annually, 3000 hours of trainer time saved weekly, and industry-first same-day results delivery. Today, Qualhub supports 4,000+ learners monthly and has opened new revenue opportunities for the company through potential B2B licensing.

The Challenge

Before Qualhub, the training process was entirely paper-based. Trainers managed sign-ins, assessments, and compliance documentation manually. Learners were required to fill out lengthy booklets and return them daily, which caused

• Enormous operational costs (paper, storage, logistics).

• Delay in learner results (up to 14 days).

• High risk of errors and non-compliance with audit requirements.

Understanding Our Users

User Groups

• Trainers: Overburdened with manual tasks and administrative work.

• Learners: Faced friction with daily documentation and compliance forms.

Research Activities

• Focused user interviews with active trainers.

• Field observations: Our PM attended a live course to shadow the entire workflow.

• Collaborative research sprint: Co-designed with a lead trainer to break down the paper-based process.

Design Challenges

• Digital Mapping of the Existing Flow: We needed to translate the original physical training booklet into a digital experience, without disrupting the training pedagogy or certification flow.

• User Resistance to Change: Both trainers and learners had established habits and minimal exposure to digital tools in this context. We had to design an intuitive, accessible interface that felt natural, not overwhelming.

• Final Assessment Security: The awarding body later requested that final assessments also be conducted digitally. This raised concerns around cheating and app-switching during exams.

Solution with Embedded Outcomes & Impact

To digitise the training and assessment process, we designed a dual-platform system:

• A web-based portal for trainers.

• A mobile app for learners.

This system closely mirrored the existing paper-based workflow to reduce resistance, minimise the learning curve, and ensure high compliance — especially important in an industry with strict regulatory oversight.

Trainer Experience (Web Portal)

• Daily setup and course management: Trainers could start the day, track attendance, log breaks, and manage time sheets digitally.

  → Saved 3000+ hours of manual admin work per week.

  
  

• Trainers could instantly access, review, and approve assessments and learner documentation.

  → Enabled Same-Day results, a competitive advantage vs. the 14-day industry norm.

  
  

• All attendance, consent, and assessment records were logged and easily exportable for easy audit and compliance.

  → Achieved a 100% approval rate in audits by the awarding body.

Learner Experience (Mobile App)

• Learners completed assessments, signed consent forms, and checked in/out via the app to maintain digital time logs.

  → Reduced friction and eliminated the need to bring manual booklets daily.

• Learners securely upload and submit their required ID documents digitally, streamlining the verification process.

  → 25% less send back to home in case of missing documents.

• Final assessment inside the app with anti-cheating measures. To prevent cheating and meet awarding body standards, we used iOS guided access and android screen pinning
  → Maintained test integrity without costly VPN solutions.
  → Enabled Same-Day results, a competitive advantage vs the 14-day industry norm.

Gamification & Classroom Engagement

• Introduced interactive quizzes and engagement tools during training sessions

→ Increased learner engagement and boosted classroom energy

• Improved learner attention and participation.

→ Resulted in 10% fewer resets, reducing repeat training costs

→ Directly reduced company costs by lowering repeat training needs.

Business-Level Impact

→ Paper usage reduced to zero, resulting in £480,000 in annual savings.

→ Course review submissions increased from 150 to 800+, boosting social proof and market trust.

→ Over 4,000 learners now use the platform every month.

→ 5 courses fully automated and live on Qualhub.

Iterative Design Process and Deployment & Rollout

We ran 4–5 iterative cycles of design and testing, including live deployments on two pilot Door Supervisor courses. Each round helped us refine.

Deployment was phased:

• Initial pilot monitored performance by the dev and ops teams throughout a 5-day Door Supervisor course.

• Bug fixes and improvements after course evaluation with quick iteration cycles with trainer feedback loops.

• Post-pilot insights via fullstory and google analytics.

• Second pilot was smooth and ran end-to-end without any devops needs, then we decided to roll out Qualhub across all Door Supervisor courses.

⚠️ During the initial deployment, we noticed technical hurdles with final assessments. VPN-based lockdown was expensive and unreliable. My team explored platform-native options.

Actions Taken:

• Pivot from VPN.

• Leveraged iOS guided access and android screen pinning to lock learners into the app during the test.

• Created approval request from the awarding body.

Next Steps

We're now focused on:

• Our company is now exploring licensing the Qualhub platform to other training providers as Smart Class™ technology so they can focus on teaching while our software system streamlines compliance, administration and assessments.

• Becoming a one of it's kind B2B AI-powered platform in EdTech that automates administrative tasks, streamlines assessments, and boosts learner engagement.

Key Learnings

• User familiarity can be a double edged sword, redesigns must be gradual and empathetic.

• Engaging content and responsive design are critical for non-desk workers.

• Direct collaboration with sales and operations unlocks deeper user access.

• A collaborative cross-functional approach creates lasting product impact.