JTL's Website Goes Live
The first of the proposed five new websites for JTL Training has now gone live.
The site is designed specifically to appeal to young people. We identified that JTL has five different target audiences, and so by having five different sites they would be able to communicate with each more effectively. The other four, ‘Parents and Carers’, ‘Careers Advisors’, ‘Employers’ and ‘Corporate’ will each have their own site which uses language, design and content appropriate to the demographic.
The website had to be designed in line with the company’s existing print collateral; however we have developed on this significantly to create a look and feel that appeals to young people. Each different type of apprenticeship has been colour coded and given a unique icon to tie everything together.
The site is extremely rich in content. We sat down with the team at JTL and went through their existing website and printed brochures to decide which information we should include. Once this was defined, we structured this information and created a navigation system for the new website. We’ve made a lot of the content interactive by including online literacy and numerously tests which allow the user to practice for exams. The content successfully combines JTL’s company details, information for prospective apprentices, and legal information. The copy uses informal language that avoids sounding ‘corporate’, meaning that it speaks more directly to young people.
There is plenty of video on the site, too. By clicking on links embedded in the pages of the site, a media player opens in a new window. These individual pieces of video include case studies, a clip taken from the BBC of an apprentice hard at work, and health and safety videos.
We’ve built a huge area of the site which provides details for each region of the country. The country has been divided into ten regions, with an interactive map allowing the user to choose the area where they want to study. Within JTL, each region has its own Regional Training Officers (RTOs). It was brought to light that the RTOs were doing a lot of repetitive work – giving out the same information and chasing the same documentation from different offices. With this region-specific area of the website we have created a central information point which will cut out this work, reducing the amount of time that RTOs spend on administrative work. It also allows colleges to be linked to a region, so if a prospective apprentice is researching places to study, they can make a more informed decision.
The online application system that we have been hard at work building has gone live with the new website. For the first time, people can now apply to become a JTL apprentice online – this is a huge step for the company, and we are positive that they will feel the benefits of this system very quickly. Administration time will be reduced, as less people will have to call and write in to JTL to order an application pack. This will dramatically cut company costs. The application system that we have built serves as a complex ‘bolt-on’ to JTL’s existing Enterprise system, which stores all of the applicant’s details. On applying, applicants are given a unique ‘Applicant Number’ which stays with them throughout their time with JTL. The process can also be completed in series of stages, so if an applicant is missing any information (or for any reason needs to come back to the process) the details that they have provided are stored. This is ideal as the process is quite lengthy and complicated.
To look at the new site click here.