Young people help college ensure inclusivity of new application system

Current and previous Bridges Project clients trialed the prototype of Edinburgh College’s new online application system in the GetConnected IT & Education Suite to give feedback on how inclusive it is.  

Edinburgh College has recently redesigned their online application process to make it more accessible and user friendly for young people with various barriers to enter the further education system. Being aware of the demographics of Bridges Project’s clients and the charity’s facilities, the College approached Bridges Project so see if some of our young people would participate in testing the new application process.

“We have approached Bridges Project because we recognise all the good they have been doing in helping young people get into positive destinations,” said Adam Meechan, Development Manager at Edinburgh College.

“The application system is going to be built in line with the Wicat regulations and for us, the most important thing is to make it more accessible for young people who have barriers to get into the education system.”

Over the course of two hours, four young people with barriers such as dyslexia, ADHD and experience from the care system came along to complete a mock application. Each young person was assisted by two members of Edinburgh College’s IT team who navigated them through the application process and received feedback on the process. The IT professionals also had another laptop that was tracking the application, in order to obtain a real feel of how well the process went in terms of accessibility.

Erin Richardson, 20, one of Bridges Project’s Young Ambassadors who completed the trial, said:

“It was a really good initiative from Edinburgh College. I think it was really useful for them to have some young people test out their product and see if we can make any improvements.”

Bridges Project’s Educational Support Worker Sam Lamond, funded by the Robertson Trust, facilitated the trial and also invited some of her clients to participate.

“It’s fantastic that Edinburgh College approached us as the only organisation working with young people to actually try this system out,” she said.

“This is what we do: try and get young people overcome barriers and move into positive destinations. Therefore, the College felt that the young people we work with are those they want feedback from.”

Sam believes the initiative was incredibly valuable for Bridges Project and the charity’s young people as well as for Edinburgh College.

“It was really important to work in partnership with Edinburgh College, one of our biggest partners, and a fantastic opportunity for us. I feel really honoured and this is a very proud moment for Bridges Project,” said the Educational Support Worker.

Edinburgh College’s new application system is due to launch in spring 2023 in order to be used for the new intake of students in August.