Compliance is one of the biggest operational challenges for businesses due to the speed of regulatory change and the time it takes to manage. But failing to stay on top of your obligations can have big consequences – regulatory fines, legal action and lasting reputational damage.
It’s even more risky in highly regulated sectors like financial services and insurance. Often one of the first areas to be investigated is whether staff have up-to-date compliance training – if there isn’t a clear record of regular and effective training, it could result in harsher penalties such as fines and legal action.
Delivering and tracking compliance training has traditionally been a time-consuming task. This is why L&D and compliance teams are turning to compliance training software to simplify the process, keep an accurate audit trail, and deliver high-quality and current course content.
Choosing the right training platform depends on a range of factors – the size of your business, your budget, sector. Some platforms offer a better user-experience or wider range of content too. This article compares six of the top compliance training providers to help you choose the best option according to your training needs.
When comparing top compliance-training providers, focus on how well each platform delivers engaging, high-quality content and whether it covers the regulations relevant to your industry. Look at the depth of their course libraries, the quality of interactive learning features, and how effectively they track completion for audits.
Consider whether the platform offers strong reporting tools, multilingual support, and options for custom content. Finally, evaluate usability, scalability, and overall cost to ensure the provider fits your organisation’s size, complexity, and long-term training needs. Here are a few of the top compliance training providers.
Skillcast is a cloud-based compliance training platform which includes features like automated reporting, compliance registers and a built-in learning management system (LMS) to help you manage compliance from a single platform.
Skillcast is one of the best compliance training providers in the UK – its goal is to make compliance simple for organisations with over 400 quality e-learning courses and a compliance portal that helps you to manage e-learning, policies, staff disclosures, registers and events.
It serves a range of sectors, including financial services, hospitality, retail and insurance, and is trusted by more than 1,400 organisations, including Royal Mail, Barclays, Tesco and Puma. In fact, customers have awarded it 4.9 stars out of 5 on review platform Feefo, and it has won the Platinum Trusted Service Award for six consecutive years from 2020 to 25.
The core focus is simpler, smarter compliance training with over five million employees trained on topics such as:
The courses can be tailored based on learners’ experience level. Training also comes in different formats such as microlearning, in-depth, refreshers and FastTrack training to help teams reach compliance readiness quickly.
The training provider is UK-based with a head office in London, so content is tailored to local regulations such as UK GDPR and updated to reflect regulatory changes.
Here are a few reasons why it’s one of the best compliance training software providers:
Skillcast doesn’t just deliver high-quality e-learning – it helps L&D and compliance teams improve compliance management. The LMS enables you to manage all compliance-related tasks from a single platform, and track progress, report and maintain an audit trail.
With nearly 25 years' experience improving compliance for businesses, it's always evolving to bring the best tech to its customers. Skillcast recently launched its conversational AI digital assistant called Aida, so learners can engage with this feature to get accurate, reliable guidance on compliance and company policies.
The cost depends on the plan: standard, enhanced, premium, core compliance, remote services or bespoke. There are a range of plans to suit each budget and business need. Skillcast also offers:
VinciWorks provides online compliance training for businesses across a range of sectors such as law, financial services and education. It has around 1.2 million users with customers including Savills, PwC, Newcastle University, and is also a UK-based platform with a head office in London.
It initially built its reputation as a training provider for the legal sector but expanded its offering in 2023, following a merger to cover a broader range of topics like GDPR and health and safety. It offers around 800 courses, and one of its unique selling points (USPs) is enabling users to edit course content using its in-browser editor.
One of its core products is a workflow engine called Omnitrack, which enables customers to collect, track and manage data. Teams can use it to build their own workflows and automate reporting, as well as integrate systems using Omnitracks’s REST API.
Vinciworks is a powerful platform but it may be more suited towards organisations who can make use of its features such as course editing and workflows.
iHasco is an online training platform that offers e-learning courses to 12,000 organisations, including care, construction, education and hospitality businesses. Customers include Abbeycroft Leisure, Robinson College and Mind, and it has a customer rating of 4.6 out of 5. It’s a UK-based platform with a head office in Berkshire.
The training platform offers over 250 courses, covering:
It focuses primarily on health and safety, and HR and business compliance, whereas another provider like Skillcast offers comprehensive compliance coverage with topics like AML, FCA and whistleblowing, which are critical for highly regulated sectors.
Its course content is also video-based, with a team that writes scripts, creates storyboards, films, edits and presents the course content. It’s ideal if you want to deliver video training but other providers like Skillcast also offer video training alongside other engaging formats such as downloadable guides and microlearning.
The platform is also compliant with GDPR, and ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials certified. It offers different packages based on the number of employees.
LRN is a US-based ethics and compliance platform with its headquarters in New York, and many international offices, including one in London. Its purpose is to improve ethical and regulatory compliance using "analytics, software and training". It trains around 30m learners each year, with customers including Dell, Kellogs and Mattel.
A core focus is helping organisations create an ethical culture. But it also has a compliance management tool and learning platform called LRN Catalyst platform, with different tools for design, reach, phishing and disclosures.
It covers topics such as:
The platform can be integrated with different systems such as Microsoft 365 and Oracle. And with its bespoke package, it offers in-person training and video but this is likely to be more expensive.
Navex is a global organisation that provides risk and compliance solutions – it’s based in the US with an international office in London. It specialises in sectors such as healthcare, financial services and manufacturing, with customers including Serco, Fresenius Medical Care and ABM.
Some of the courses in its ethics and compliance programme include:
It also has an AI-powered governance, risk and compliance (GRC) software platform to centralise policy, training and risk management. While it does offer training for UK-based companies, its course library does include laws for other locations.
Navex has many features like ethics training and whistleblowing management. While this is suitable for some businesses, the system could prove quite complex and tricky to navigate. It's also likely to be more expensive for the entire suite, so businesses need to ensure they can make use of all of its features.
Learning Pool offers workplace learning solutions – more specifically, data-driven digital learning. It’s a global training provider based in Northern Ireland, and specialises in sectors such as business services, construction, financial services, hospitality and manufacturing. Customers include Boots, Lidl and National Express.
It doesn’t solely focus on compliance training and management because it also offers:
Its platform uses AI, automation and analytics for certain processes, so it may be suited to larger organisations who have the technical capacity to implement and use it.
The training platforms make use of new technology but depending on your digital maturity some of the features may be too complex.
If your sole focus is to deliver engaging e-learning, streamline compliance management processes and improve staff training, Skillcast is one of the best options, especially for heavily regulated sectors such as financial services.On the other hand, a platform like Navex may be more suited for organisations who also want a whistleblowing solution.
Here are the key differences between the training providers:
|
Training provider |
Point of difference |
*Potential limitations |
Primary location |
|
Skillcast |
|
|
London, UK |
|
VinciWorks |
|
|
London, UK |
|
iHasco |
|
|
Berkshire, UK |
|
LRN |
|
|
New York, US |
|
Navex |
|
|
Oregon, US |
|
Learning Pool |
|
|
Northern Ireland, UK |
*The limitations are based on customer observations, so it’s best to use your discretion when finding and choosing a compliance platform.
When choosing a compliance training platform, it’s important that the provider has experience and successful use cases within your industry. Consider the following:
Consider your organisation's needs first. For example, a financial services company is highly regulated, so it needs a provider with comprehensive compliance coverage.
Does it offer training courses that address risks faced in your organisation? For example, if you’re a charity, choose a provider that delivers specific training, such as anti-bribery for charities.
The platform should be compliant with GDPR and data protection laws. Look out for an ISO 27001 accreditation as it demonstrates a high level of data security. Skillcast is also accredited by Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus.
Even if its headquarters are abroad, it should be fully up to date with local laws and regulations such as UK GDPR and the course content should reflect this.
Check what integrations the provider offers – it should be straightforward to connect the platform with your existing tools and learning management system.
A compliance platform should be straightforward to implement, with minimal disruption. Some platforms have many complex features, so might take longer or need technical support to implement.
The platform should be user-friendly, enabling all users, such as compliance officers, L&D team and learners to access and complete actions.
Does it make use of the latest technology to save time and improve efficiency, without becoming too complex for everyday users?
Companies need to maintain a clear audit trail, so check what the reporting capabilities are and how the training can be measured, for example, completion rates.
Does it require you to adopt features you don’t need? For example, with Skillcast, if you don’t need all features, you can choose a standard plan, so you're not spending money on features that won’t be used.
Insurer Aviva delivered nine learning topics each year to maintain compliance but it took significant time and administration costs were high at around £7.75m per year.
They partnered with Skillcast to develop a centralised compliance essential learning module, so Aviva could deliver its nine courses into a single activity, while using used assessments to further save time and costs.
The result:
Skillcast is one of the best compliance training providers in the UK, with an extensive course library and nearly 25 years’ experience helping businesses manage compliance and staff training. It’s a flexible and scalable platform with different plans to suit your needs and ensure you're not paying for services you won’t use:
See for yourself and start your free trial or book a demo.
The best compliance software depends on your needs and sector. A highly regulated sector like financial services, for instance, requires comprehensive compliance coverage including courses like AML, GDPR and FCA Handbook. Also check if the software has a content management system, LMS and security accreditations like ISO 27001, Cyber Essentials and Cyber Essentials Plus.
Compliance officers can use a platform like Skillcast, which centralises all training, management and reporting. They get real-time updates on training completion rates, pass rates and overdue training. It also has features like declarations, surveys and registers.
Learner fatigue is real, so you need to ensure your compliance training is engaging and interactive, while delivering key learnings. A platform like Skillcast can improve completion rates by sending reminders, enabling learners to take control of their training and breaking down complex topics into videos, nudges or microlearning. It also offers adaptive learning and FastTrack training, so learners get a shorter version of the course if they already have pre-existing knowledge.