"On average now, we’re saving close to an hour per review with Juro"

Forth Valley College is a leading further and higher education institution in Central Scotland, with campuses in Falkirk, Stirling, and Alloa. Formed in 2005 through the merger of Falkirk and Clackmannan colleges, it now supports over 13,500 students each year.

Since then, the college has built a strong reputation for its apprenticeship programmes. It offers a wide range of opportunities in key industries such as engineering, business, and construction.

But managing apprenticeships involves a lot of paperwork: contracts, progress reviews, funding forms, assessment records, and more. Keeping all of this organised is essential to make sure things run smoothly for both students and employers.

In this customer story, we hear from Chris Nisbet (Assistant Client Manager) and Zak Stark (Head of Commercial & Training Delivery) about how they use Juro to simplify the process and free up valuable time.

The challenge: a long and outdated signing process for apprenticeship documents

Before switching to Juro, Forth Valley College relied on a slow, manual process to manage apprenticeship documents. Each form had to be created from scratch, printed, and physically delivered to employers or apprentices for a wet ink signature.

Once signed, the documents were returned and manually tracked by the admin responsible for that business partner, with contract details logged in an Excel spreadsheet.

Chris Nisbet, Assistant Client Manager at FVC, who manages employer relationships and oversees Apprenticeship Officers, explains the strain this created:

“Getting apprenticeship review forms signed meant our Apprenticeship Officers had to drive out to each employer’s site. With hundreds of apprentices across different companies, that meant endless trips across the country.”

And sometimes, things got even more complicated.

“When visiting construction companies, there was always a chance bad weather had shut down work and the team had already moved to another site,” Chris recalls. “Or, if an employer was away for a while, we’d have to mail the forms and wait for them to send them back.

“That could be a total nightmare—they’d sometimes forget to sign, or worse, lose the form entirely. In those cases, it could take two to three weeks to get one apprenticeship form completed.”

Chris adds, “We knew we couldn’t keep travelling with review forms to secure in-person signatures—it just wasn’t sustainable. The cost in time alone was massive.”

The requirements: what did FVC need?

With hundreds of apprenticeship forms to manage each year, Chris Nisbet (Assistant Client Manager) and Zak Stark (Head of Commercial & Training Delivery) knew it was time to move away from manual processes. They set out to digitize the workflow and boost efficiency across the board.

They were looking for a solution that would:

• Enable self-serve document generation: FVC wanted Apprenticeship Officers to create documents quickly and independently, helping them move faster when securing and tracking placements.
  
  
• Support remote signing: Allowing employers and apprentices to sign documents electronically would remove the need for time-consuming, in-person meetings and streamline turnaround times.
  
  
• Improve compliance and visibility: As a government-funded institution, FVC needed to meet strict security standards. They sought a solution that would offer better control and transparency over contracts.

Crucially, Forth Valley College needed a solution that complied with the standards set by Skills Development Scotland (SDS), who are responsible for overseeing compliance and funding linked to Modern Apprenticeship provision in Scotland. Juro was a strong fit, thanks to its secure native eSigning, detailed audit trails, and robust contract permission controls.

The solution: a fast and efficient way to get documents signed

Forth Valley College implemented Juro in 2023, moving all of their apprenticeship agreements and documentation into the platform. 

“Implementation was easier than we ever expected,” Zak explains. “We were all dreading a long and demanding set up process, but that wasn’t the case. The team all appreciated how easily Juro was both implemented and adopted. It just happened naturally.”

The team uses Juro’s self-serve workflows to enable Apprenticeship Officers to quickly and easily create apprenticeship forms within the platform, and they can send these straight out for signing in just a few clicks. 

“Juro’s eSignature functionality has been a game-changer for us,” says Zak. “Instead of commuting to visit site managers in-person, we can simply send a signing request straight to their device and get it signed instantly. Plus, we have a detailed audit trail to ensure compliance and track the progress on these reviews” says Zak. 

Juro’s contract repository has also been a popular feature for Forth Valley College, as Zak explains: 

“Before Juro, we had all of our reviews printed and stored as hard copies in filing cabinets, which took up a lot of space and made it difficult to monitor compliance. Now, they’re stored centrally and securely," says Zak.

"Plus, they’re accessible as and when we need to pull up a review for reference, and our Apprenticeship Officers no longer need to carry these older versions with them to sites just in case.”

“We’ve had a phenomenal experience with Juro’s customer support team. With other systems we’ve worked with, there’s always teething issues and a back-and-forth with the provider to solve for these. We’re keen to praise the experience we’ve had with you and how it compares,” says Zak. 

The result: hours saved by cutting in-person visits

Since implementing Juro, Forth Valley College has dramatically cut the cost of getting apprenticeship forms signed and reviewed, as well as speeding up the end-to-end process.

“The biggest improvement for us has been how much faster we can get signatures.” says Zak.

“In the past, we were travelling the length and breadth of the country just to secure a signature. On average now, we’re saving close to an hour per review with Juro, simply because we’ve cut out the need to travel and get reviews signed in person. With Juro, they can sign instantly from anywhere, on any device.”

“We’re no longer having to jump in cars and drive across the country with this paperwork, which is inherently a positive thing from a sustainability point of view. Plus, there are considerable cost-savings for the business from cutting out those trips,” Zak shares.  

The shift has also transformed the experience of working with Forth Valley College for both employers and apprentices.

“From a customer experience perspective, Juro has been a game-changer. We’re no longer disrupting employers onsite to get signatures—they can sign at their convenience without losing time from their day. Employers find Juro extremely easy to use. They just open the email and sign there and then.”

The benefits extend to the apprentices as well, Zak explains. “Apprentices are already used to managing their work through electronic portfolios. Digitising the signing process just makes sense—it reduces friction and avoids unnecessary context switching.”

“We would definitely recommend Juro to any colleges still managing their documents manually or in-person. It’s been a life-saver for our team.”