Patent Application
20160171449
Apprenticeship refers to the practice of training a new generation of practitioners (known as apprentices) in a trade or profession via on-the-job training and mentoring. Although first developed during the Middle Ages, apprenticeship schemes are still widely used today in countries such as Germany, Australia, Switzerland, Austria, France, and others. For example, apprenticeship is an integral part of Germany's dual education system. Under this dual system, students spend 50-70% of their time over a period of approximately three years working as an apprentice for a company in a particular trade/profession, and spend the remainder of their time in formal education. After completing their apprenticeships, the former apprentices are entitled to obtain employment in their fields of expertise. In Germany, there are currently 342 recognized trades (“Ausbildungsberufe”) in which an apprenticeship can be completed. These trades include craft-based professions, such as baking, tailoring, carpentry, etc., as well as business-oriented professions, such as finance, engineering, industrial management, etc.
One challenge for German companies (and companies in other countries where apprenticeship is prevalent) is managing information regarding the apprentices they hire for their various business units/departments. For instance, a large German company like Siemens or SAP may employ thousands of apprentices at a given time, spread across tens or hundreds of departments, which makes apprenticeship management a daunting task. Many companies have employee/human resource (HR) management systems that enable generic HR functions such as time-off/attendance, payroll, recruiting, learning management, and so on. However, existing employee/HR management systems are not designed to track and manage apprenticeship-specific data. Accordingly, such existing systems cannot be directly used by company stakeholders to plan, administer, and/or view information regarding the company's apprenticeships.
An apprenticeship planning and management system is disclosed. In various embodiments, the apprenticeship planning and management system can include: (1) a central planning module that enables a training supervisor of a company to assign apprentices to departments and view company-wide apprentice schedules based on the departmental assignments; (2) a department-level view module that enables an administrator of a particular company department to view schedules and detailed information for apprentices that have been assigned to that department; and (3) an apprentice-level view module that enables each apprentice to view their individual work/school schedules. In this manner, the system can facilitate planning, administration, and information exchange with respect to the company's apprenticeships.
In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous examples and details are set forth in order to provide an understanding of various embodiments. It will be evident, however, to one skilled in the art that certain embodiments can be practiced without some of these details, or can be practiced with modifications or equivalents thereof.
Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a system that can be implemented by a company (or a service provider contracted to provide software services to the company) for planning and managing the company's apprenticeships. At a high level, the system can include a central planning module, a department-level view module, and an apprentice-level view module. The central planning module can enable a training supervisor of the company to, e.g., define apprenticeship-specific data for apprentices hired by the company, define apprenticeship-specific data for departments/sub-departments within the company, assign apprentices to departments/sub-departments, and view calendar-based schedules for the apprentices based on their school periods, school vacation, department work periods, internal training events, requested time-off, and other events. In this way, the central planning module can facilitate the creation of per-department apprenticeship plans, as well as allow the training supervisor to visualize where each apprentice will be (and when) based on their departmental assignments.
The department-level view module can enable a department administrator (or other department user) to view the schedules of all apprentices that have been assigned to that department (and its constituent sub-departments) via the central planning module. For example, the department-level view module can generate a calendar-based UI that illustrates the time slots during which each apprentice will be working for the department, as well as other events that affect the availability of the apprentice (e.g., school periods, school vacation, internal training events, time-off, etc.). The UI can also display detailed information about each apprentice, such as their contact information, school, learning/training history, skills, and so on. Accordingly, the department-level view module can provide the department administrator with relevant information for planning and preparing effectively for the department's incoming group of assigned apprentices.
Finally, the apprentice-level view module can enable an apprentice that is employed with the company to view his/her individual work and school schedules. For example, the apprentice-level view module can generate a calendar-based UI that displays schedule information similar to the information presented via the central planning and department-level view modules (e.g., work times, school periods, school vacation, internal training events, time-off, etc.), but is specific to a single apprentice. In addition, the apprentice-level view module can provide the apprentice with information regarding his/her assigned department (e.g., departmental contact, office location, etc.). Thus, with this module, the apprentice can easily keep track of where he/she needs to be on a daily basis, and who to get in touch with if he/she has questions regarding the apprenticeship.
In certain embodiments, the apprenticeship planning and management system described above can be integrated with the company's existing employee/HR management system. For instance, upon receiving apprenticeship-specific data for apprentices or departments within the company, the central planning module can store this data as part of existing employee and department data objects/tables maintained by the company's employee/HR management system, rather than as new data objects or tables. This avoids the need to replicate employee/HR data in backend storage for apprenticeship management purposes.
In addition, the apprenticeship planning and management system can automatically pull data from the existing employee/HR management system as needed to provide additional contextual information to the various users of the central planning, department-level view, and apprentice-level view modules. For example, in one embodiment, the apprenticeship planning and management system can automatically pull information regarding time-off requested by each apprentice from an existing time-off/attendance module of the employee/HR management system. This time-off information can then be reflected in the calendar-based schedules generated for the training supervisor, department administrators, and apprentices. In another embodiment, the apprenticeship planning and management system can automatically pull learning/training data for each apprentice from an existing learning management module of the employee/HR management system, and can present this data in the department-level apprentice detail UIs.
These and other aspects of the present disclosure are described in further detail in the sections that follow.
Server tier 104, which can be implemented using one or physical computer systems, is configured to run (among other things) an employee/HR management system (HRMS) 110 for the company. An example of such an HRMS is SAP's Employee Central software suite. As shown, HRMS 110 includes an employee info module 112, a department info module 114, a time-off/attendance module 116, and other modules 120. Employee info and department info modules 112 and 114 can enable users of HRMS 110 to enter/maintain information regarding the employees and departments/sub-departments of the company respectively. Time-off/attendance module 116 can enable employees of the company to request and receive approval for time-off/vacation days. And other modules 120 can provide further features that are commonly implemented in conventional HRMS s, like payroll management, benefits management, employee performance tracking, and so on.
Server tier 104 further includes a learning/training management system 118 that can facilitate various aspects of employee training, such as providing employee access to online learning content and/or specific training curricula, tracking employee learning/training history, and so on. An example of such a system is the Learning Management System of the SuccessFactors' BizX Suite.
Storage tier 106 of computing deployment 102, which can be implemented using one or more physical storage components (e.g., dedicated storage arrays, commodity hard/flash disks, etc.), is configured to store persistent data on behalf of HRMS 110. For example, in
As noted in the Background section, one problem with existing HRMS implementations is that they are not designed to facilitate apprenticeship management. For example, assume that the company associated with computing deployment 102 is a German company (or a company in another country where apprenticeship is widely used) with a large number of apprentices spread across numerous departments. In this scenario, with existing HRMS solutions, there would be no way for the various stakeholders in the apprenticeship process to directly use the HRMS in order to, e.g., assign apprentices to departments, view apprentice information and schedules, and so on.
To address these and other similar issues, server tier 104 of
It should be appreciated that system environment 100 is illustrative and not intended to limit the embodiments discussed herein. For example, while APMS 130 is shown as being a separate component from HRMS 110, in some embodiments APMS 130 may be directly integrated into HRMS 110. In these embodiments, central planning module 132, department-level view module 134, and apprentice-level view module 136 can be created as additional modules of HRMS 110 (similar to modules 112-120).
Further, it should be appreciated that the specific technologies used to implement the various entities/modules shown in system environment 100 may vary. For instance, in one embodiment, client-side UIs 138-142 generated by modules 132-136 of APMS 130 can be implemented as mobile applications designed to run on a smartphone or other mobile device (e.g., a tablet or smartwatch). Alternatively or in addition, client-side UIs 138-142 can be implemented as web-based interfaces that are designed to run within a conventional web browser. One of ordinary skill in the art will recognize many variations, modifications, and alternatives.
At block 204, central planning module 132 can receive the requested apprenticeship-specific employee data and can store the data in storage tier 106. In a particular embodiment, this data can be stored as part of one or more existing employee data objects/tables (i.e., 122) maintained by HRMS 110, thereby avoiding the need to create duplicate data records for each apprentice.
At block 206, central planning module 132 can generate a UI requesting apprenticeship-specific department data for each of the company departments participating in the apprenticeship program. This apprenticeship-specific department data can include, e.g., contact information for the apprentices of the department, off-periods for the department, preferences, and maximum capacity (i.e., the maximum number of apprentices the department can train).
At block 208, central planning module 132 can receive the requested apprenticeship-specific department data and can store the data in storage tier 106. Like the apprenticeship-specific employee data, the apprenticeship-specific department data can be stored as part of one or more existing department data objects/tables (i.e., 124) maintained by HRMS 110, thereby avoiding the need to create duplicate data records for each department.
At block 210, central planning module 132 can generate a UI for grouping the apprentices according to one or more criteria. For example, the apprentices can be grouped by trade/profession, apprenticeship year, class year, location, school, etc. At block 212, central planning module 132 can receive the groupings defined by the training supervisor and store the groupings in storage tier 106.
Then, at block 214, central planning module 132 can generate a calendar-based UI for assigning apprentices to departments (either on a per-apprentice or per-group basis) and viewing the schedules for each apprentice according to their departmental assignments. For instance,
As part of generating calendar-based UI 300 at block 214, central planning module 132 can automatically populate the UI with events that are relevant to the apprentices. The events can include, e.g., internal training, school periods, holidays, school vacation, company work slots, and time-off (shown via legend elements 302, 304, 306, 308, 310, and 312 in
Further, as part of updating calendar-based UI 300 at block 216 of
If the departmental assignment does not overlap any existing events, central planning module 132 can check whether the assignment causes the department to exceed its maximum capacity or overlaps a department off-period (as defined by the training supervisor at block 206 of
Otherwise, central planning module 132 can allow the assignment (block 508) and flowchart 500 can end.
Returning to
Starting with block 602, department-level view module 134 can generate a calendar-based UI displaying the schedules for the apprentices assigned to the administrator's department.
UI 700 also depicts the various school and work-related events for the apprentices shown in UI 300, such as school periods, school vacation, holidays, internal training, work periods, and requested time-off. Department-level view module 134 can automatically pull information for these events from the same sources as central planning module 132.
In certain embodiments, department-level view module 134 can receive a selection of a particular apprentice in UI 700 from the department administrator (block 604). For instance, the department administrator can hover (using, e.g., a mouse) over the apprentice's name, or click on the apprentice name. In response, department-level view module 134 can present detailed information regarding the selected apprentice, such as his/her contact information, learning/training history, skills, and apprenticeship-specific information entered by the training administrator via the central planning UIs (e.g., apprenticeship year, school, class year, etc.) (block 606). An example of this detailed information is shown in UI 700 via window 702. In this manner, the department administrator can get a better sense of the skills and knowledge of each incoming apprentice, and thereby plan the apprentice's training regime appropriately. In a particular embodiment, department-level view module 134 can import the apprentice detail information shown in window 702 from various existing data objects/tables maintained by HRMS 110, such as employee data objects/tables 122 and learning/training data objects/tables 128.
At block 802, apprentice-level view module 136 can generate a calendar-based UI that displays the apprentice's work and school schedule, as defined by the departmental assignment(s) made by the training supervisor via the central planning UIs.
In the particular example of
In some embodiments, the UI generated at block 802 of flowchart 800 can include a link or control that enables access to information regarding the department the apprentice has been assigned to work for. For instance, in
Bus subsystem 1004 can provide a mechanism for letting the various components and subsystems of computer system 1000 communicate with each other as intended. Although bus subsystem 1004 is shown schematically as a single bus, alternative embodiments of the bus subsystem can utilize multiple buses.
Network interface subsystem 1016 can serve as an interface for communicating data between computer system 1000 and other computing devices or networks. Embodiments of network interface subsystem 1016 can include wired (e.g., coaxial, twisted pair, or fiber optic Ethernet) and/or wireless (e.g., Wi-Fi, cellular, Bluetooth, etc.) interfaces.
User interface input devices 1012 can include a keyboard, pointing devices (e.g., mouse, trackball, touchpad, etc.), a scanner, a barcode scanner, a touch-screen incorporated into a display, audio input devices (e.g., voice recognition systems, microphones, etc.), and other types of input devices. In general, use of the term “input device” is intended to include all possible types of devices and mechanisms for inputting information into computer system 1000.
User interface output devices 1014 can include a display subsystem, a printer, a fax machine, or non-visual displays such as audio output devices, etc. The display subsystem can be a cathode ray tube (CRT), a flat-panel device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), or a projection device. In general, use of the term “output device” is intended to include all possible types of devices and mechanisms for outputting information from computer system 1000.
Storage subsystem 1006 includes a memory subsystem 1008 and a file/disk storage subsystem 1010. Subsystems 1008 and 1010 represent non-transitory computer-readable storage media that can store program code and/or data that provide the functionality of various embodiments described herein.
Memory subsystem 1008 can include a number of memories including a main random access memory (RAM) 1018 for storage of instructions and data during program execution and a read-only memory (ROM) 1020 in which fixed instructions are stored. File storage subsystem 1010 can provide persistent (i.e., non-volatile) storage for program and data files and can include a magnetic or solid-state hard disk drive, an optical drive along with associated removable media (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD, Blu-Ray, etc.), a removable flash memory-based drive or card, and/or other types of storage media known in the art.
It should be appreciated that computer system 1000 is illustrative and not intended to limit embodiments of the present invention. Many other configurations having more or fewer components than computer system 1000 are possible.
The above description illustrates various embodiments of the present invention along with examples of how aspects of the present invention may be implemented. The above examples and embodiments should not be deemed to be the only embodiments, and are presented to illustrate the flexibility and advantages of the present invention as defined by the following claims. For example, although certain embodiments have been described with respect to particular process flows and steps, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the scope of the present invention is not strictly limited to the described flows and steps. Steps described as sequential may be executed in parallel, order of steps may be varied, and steps may be modified, combined, added, or omitted. As another example, although certain embodiments have been described using a particular combination of hardware and software, it should be recognized that other combinations of hardware and software are possible, and that specific operations described as being implemented in software can also be implemented in hardware and vice versa.
The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive sense. Other arrangements, embodiments, implementations and equivalents will be evident to those skilled in the art and may be employed without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.
