Use of Integrated Microsoft 365 and Power Platform in the Processing and Monitoring of On-the-Job Training (OJT) Program

The transition from traditional and paper-intensive processing of educational operations to a digital, seamless, and paperless workflow is an innovative solution when restricted by unforeseen events like the COVID-19 pandemic. Education professionals use low-code development platforms like Microsoft 365 and Power Platform to develop simple digital solutions. Educational activities such as on-the-job training (OJT) programs involve multiple-step processes and interaction between numerous stakeholders. The processing of documents and requests for signatures and approvals are the challenges in the conduct of OJT. An OJT Portal was developed using SharePoint sites integrated into Teams and automated by Power Automate to simplify processes and help the student trainees on their OJT. The primary operations on the OJT Portal are initiated by student trainees, from Recommendation Letter Request (RLR), Request for Endorsement (RE), General Acceptance Letter (GAL), Daily Time Record (DTR) to the Exit Interview Scheduler (EIS). Additional features on the portal include a list of OJT partners, career development materials, essential document access, and other recordings. SharePoint and OneDrive are the databases for all requested and submitted documents. Student trainees answered a 1–5 scale rating user satisfaction survey towards the end of their OJT program, where 4 and 5 are equivalent to good and best, respectively. The overall user experience from 173 student trainees showed feedback of Best (54.91%) and Good (33.53%), indicating a strong positive response and reflecting the system's effectiveness. Using the OJT Portal, student trainees may efficiently process their OJT anywhere, digitally record their progress, and organize related documents.