About Co-Ownership
Co-Ownership is Northern Ireland's regional shared ownership provider. They are government-backed, regulated, and committed to making home ownership possible for people who might otherwise be unable to buy.
For 45 years, Co-Ownership has been an organisation led by people with diverse expertise in housing policy, finance, customer support, and legal services.
How Co-Ownership streamlined compliance training with AppLI LMS
Co-Ownership has been helping people into home ownership in Northern Ireland for decades. With a workforce of 60 employees and a strong focus on professional, technical and regulatory standards, learning and development plays an important role across the organisation.
Having utilised Legal Island’s eLearning for more than a decade, Co-Ownership introduced AppLI LMS in April 2026 to bring its compliance training together in one central platform.
The Challenge
Co-Ownership’s learning and development strategy is built around three key areas:
- Leadership development
- Professional and technical development
- Compliance
Compliance is particularly important. As an organisation operating in a financial services-type environment and using public money, Co-Ownership needs to demonstrate good governance and provide assurance that essential training has been completed.
Previously, compliance training was delivered on a more ad hoc basis, with individual Legal Island courses purchased at different points throughout the year.
While this approach provided the training required, it meant that employees joining at different times did not necessarily receive the same range of courses."
Co-Ownership wanted to take a more structured approach, establishing an annual compliance calendar covering areas such as GDPR, cybersecurity and fraud awareness.
For an HR function of just two people, however, delivering 12–14 areas of training each year would mean considerable time spent sourcing providers, demonstrating value for money through procurement, administering training and reporting completion to the Board – alongside the full range of other HR responsibilities.
The Solution
AppLI LMS gave Co-Ownership a central platform from which it could deliver and manage its compliance training.
Instead of sourcing and procuring individual training throughout the year, relevant courses are readily available through the platform. This allows the HR function to plan its compliance programme in advance and communicate upcoming training to employees and line managers each quarter.
The online format also gives employees greater flexibility. Rather than having to attend training at a fixed time, they can complete courses around their individual workloads and deadlines.
Key factors in choosing AppLI LMS
Northern Ireland-Specific Law Content
For Co-Ownership, another important factor was the Northern Ireland-specific content available through Legal Island.
Having considered other platforms, th e organisation found that some content marketed for a UK audience originated elsewhere and did not always reflect the local jurisdiction, workplace culture or language.
With compliance training in particular, Co-Ownership wanted confidence that the content employees received was appropriate to Northern Ireland.
Keeping compliance training fresh and engaging
Regularly refreshed content was another significant consideration.
Co-Ownership had previously used Legal Island courses including GDPR training.
When employees completed the subject again through AppLI LMS, the updated presentation and refreshed content helped make repeat training feel relevant rather than simply presenting the same material year after year.
Key factors in choosing AppLI LMS
Northern Ireland-Specific Law Content
For Co-Ownership, another important factor was the Northern Ireland-specific content available through Legal Island.
Having considered other platforms, the organisation found that some content marketed for a UK audience originated elsewhere and did not always reflect the local jurisdiction, workplace culture or language.
With compliance training in particular, Co-Ownership wanted confidence that the content employees received was appropriate to Northern Ireland.
Keeping compliance training fresh and engaging
Regularly refreshed content was another significant consideration.
Co-Ownership had previously used Legal Island courses including GDPR training.
When employees completed the subject again through AppLI LMS, the updated presentation and refreshed content helped make repeat training feel relevant rather than simply presenting the same material year after year.
Louise Kearney, Head of HR & OD in Co-Ownership explained:
This was important for maintaining employee engagement and helping people retain the information.
“It’s presented differently. It’s fresh. So that’s much more engaging for staff.”
The organisation has also received positive feedback on the training, including comments from senior staff about the refreshed GDPR course and the way the material was presented.
Getting Started with AppLI LMS
Despite previous experiences of implementing complex systems, Conor described the onboarding process with AppLI LMS as straightforward and stress-free.
"The setup and rollout of the system was seamless. We experienced literally zero issues between the setup and rolling out the system."
Legal Island’s customer support also played a major role in ensuring the transition was successful.
"Arnold was amazing, always on call for us. From a HR user point of view, it’s very straightforward. There were no major issues whatsoever."
The ease of use has also made the platform accessible across the wider organisation.
It is so incredibly user-friendly.
Success with AppLI LMS
Since implementing AppLI LMS, NTPF has significantly improved its approach to compliance training, reporting and staff development.
The platform now enables the organisation to:
• Track policy acknowledgement and training completion rates
• Produce executive-level reporting on staff training activity
• Demonstrate compliance for audit purposes
• Reduce external training costs
• Deliver more targeted learning for managers and employees
• Provide staff with recognised certificates following training completion
Conor explained that the reporting functionality has become particularly valuable for senior leadership reporting.
“Every two months we run training on different topics through the platform and provide the completion rates to the higher executive staff so they can see which departments are exceeding in the training and which departments need to catch up.”
The system has also strengthened compliance processes across the organisation.
From a compliance point of view, it’s helped drastically because we are now getting staff to review policies, complete the subsequent training and then having a full record for auditor purposes.
Cost savings have also been significant.
“We’d previously be going out to trainers who could charge anything between two or three thousand to deliver a webinar. It has saved us money because the platform is very cost-friendly.”
Conor also highlighted the value staff place on receiving certificates after completing training.
“Staff enjoy getting the completion certificate. They can use it for professional development and it’s something they can take with them throughout their career.”
Would You Recommend AppLI LMS?
Absolutely. The tracking, reporting, customer support and ability to customise the content are the real selling points of the system.
Conor explained that every organisation has different priorities and requirements when it comes to learning and development, making the flexibility of AppLI LMS particularly valuable.
"Every organisation will be different. The ability to tailor the platform and training content to suit your organisation is hugely important."
Would You Like to Learn More About AppLI LMS?
To learn how AppLI LMS can be adapted to your organisation, get in touch with our Sales Manager, Debbie Wilson, today.
Legal Island’s LMS, licensed to you
Imagine your staff having 24/7 access to a centralised training platform, tailored to your organisation’s brand and staff training needs, with unlimited users.
Stay ahead in a rapidly changing HR world
Subscribe to the Legal Island mailing list for insights, news and updates.