The civil service exams sector is constantly growing, and every year thousands and thousands of people in Spain sit these exams with the aim of getting a permanent and stable job.
These competitive examinations are becoming increasingly competitive, so preparing for them is no longer an option. This is where competition academies come into play, helping candidates to prepare for these complex tests.
Setting up a public examination academy nowadays, whether online or in person, represents a great opportunity, as more and more people are looking for a flexible and quality way to prepare well for competitive examinations. In this article we tell you how to set up an academy, the legal and operational steps and requirements to open an exam academy from scratch. Do you have experience preparing for exams and want to set up your own academy? This guide is for you.
Why is setting up a competition academy a great opportunity?
Every year, thousands of vacancies are advertised, and with them, thousands of people start preparing for their exams. Last year, more than 500,000 people took competitive examinations in Spain with the aim of gaining access to one of the 40,000 vacancies on offer, the highest number to date.
In the current employment context, the idea of getting a permanent position in the public administration is more attractive than ever. Stability, a guaranteed salary and good conditions have boosted interest in taking the civil service exam, and more and more people are preparing for their places through online courses.
This, together with the rise of e-learning, which has transformed the way people teach and learn, has led to a huge demand for specialised training and online academies.
These online academies not only meet the needs of candidates looking for quality and flexible training, but are also a scalable and highly cost-effective project.
By using e-learning platforms to set up the courses, you can start to set up your exam academy from scratch with very little, offering materials for one of the branches, testing your teaching models, automating processes and gradually expanding and improving your project. Why setting up an exam academy is a great opportunity?
Step by step: how to set up an online competition academy
Setting up an online exam academy does not require a large initial investment, but it does require clear planning. It’s not just about uploading videos and waiting for the students to come flooding in: you need to understand your audience, choose the right platform, offer quality content, comply with legal requirements and design an effective recruitment strategy.
To launch your online academy from scratch, you need a plan of action, the most important steps to follow are:
1. Define your speciality and target audience
Before creating your course or choosing a platform, you should be clear about the type of candidate you are targeting. Are you preparing for competitive examinations in education, justice, health, administration? It is not the same for a course for nurses as it is for secondary school teachers.
Define your target audience well, think about whether you want to address someone with total availability to take the courses or a profile that needs more flexibility. Also take into account if you are going to focus your content on people who already have some experience in the sector or if they are university graduates.1.
2. Validate your idea with a small sample
Don’t wait until you have a fully assembled course to launch, it would be a waste of resources if you have to make changes in the end. Instead, validate your idea with a small sample. Once you have a sufficient base of learners, conduct surveys, interviews and ask for feedback that will allow you to improve and fine-tune your course design.
Creating a landing page with a waiting list while you are still evaluating and testing your new academy will help you to avoid losing enrolments. Also, if you get your initial students to be satisfied with the training, you can add their testimonials to increase recruitment.
3. It fulfils the legal requirements to open a competitive examination academy.
Believe it or not, an online academy must also meet some legal requirements. If you are self-employed or work with other partners, you will need to register as self-employed or set up a company. In addition, if you will be working with other trainers or teachers, you will need training or service contracts.
You will also need to handle sensitive information about your students, such as telephone numbers, email addresses or even biometric data if you use proctoring techniques. Therefore, you must comply with the Organic Law on the Protection of Personal Data and Guarantee of Digital Rights (LOPDGDD) in Spain and the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), with a clear privacy policy, express consent from users and secure data storage.
4. Design your training offer
This is the phase where you need to start shaping what you want to offer, what kind of training offer, materials and resources you are going to have hosted on your platform: are you going to have live classes, or are you going to record the classes and offer downloadable materials?
Some of the formats you can use are webinars, to offer a more interactive training, or the incorporation of online tutors for a more personalised follow-up. Some LMS platforms even incorporate their own virtual tutor.
5. Choose an e-learning platform
Once you are clear about what you want to offer in your course and in what format, it is time to choose an e-learning platform for competitive examinations that can meet all your needs. In order to do so, you will have to assess certain aspects such as:
- Ease of use for you and your students: look for something that is not very complex so that students can navigate easily and so that it is easier for you to make modifications and add new content.
- Ability to upload the materials you need: if what you are looking for is, for example, to be able to upload videos and carry out tests and interactive activities, look for a platform that allows you to do this, not all of them have the same functionalities.
- Task automation: one of the great advantages of using an LMS is the possibility of automating tasks such as assessments or corrections that will optimise your time, consider this when choosing.
- Integration with other tools: think about whether you will need to integrate the course into another medium, such as a company intranet or WordPress, and choose something that is compatible.
- Price: take into account the realistic number of learners you are going to reach and the functionalities you really need, there are usually different rates depending on the features of the platform.
6. Launch a pilot test with few students
Once you have your course on track, it’s time to do a pilot test. You don’t need to have everything perfect to get started. Launch a first edition with a few students, perhaps even at a reduced price, as a test.
This will help you to adjust content, better understand the real needs of the learner and detect errors or improvements before scaling up and reaching an even larger audience.
7. Plan your recruitment strategy
There is no point in setting up an academy for online competitive examinations if you don’t get enrolments. That’s why you have to make it known by planning a strategy to attract students.
Some actions you can take to start selling your online course are:
- Create a professional website with local SEO and blog: a well-optimised website with useful content that responds to the searches of your target audience will help you position yourself and attract quality organic traffic that ends up converting.
- Social media campaigns: platforms such as Instagram, Facebook or TikTok allow you to give visibility to your academy and generate engagement with users. For example, you can create summaries and outlines of key topics, study tips, live videos resolving common doubts or testimonials from people who have already passed the competitive examinations.
- Google Ads: a well-planned paid campaign on Google will allow you to appear in the search results when someone searches for related terms, helping you to get quality leads. You can run campaigns with special offers or promotions.
- Affiliate marketing: affiliate marketing for an online course is one of the most popular and effective options, as it allows you to reach a wider audience by collaborating with trainers, educational disseminators or influencers in the niche and build trust at a lower cost.
- Collaborations with local academies: collaborate with local academies or training centres to attract students who, after finishing their training, are considering preparing for a competitive examination.
Key tips if you are setting up an online academy
There are certain formats and formulas that are much more effective than others and applying them to your project can make the difference between success and failure.
Some key tips that you should adopt from the beginning are:
- Use short videos: you don't need to record an hour-long lecture if you can explain the same thing in 10 well-structured minutes. Short videos keep the student's attention and make it easier to consult afterwards.
- Test tests: test-type exams are one of the most effective forms of evaluation to seal all that has been learned. Moreover, if you can automate the correction and give immediate feedback, all the better.
- Record with good quality: from image quality to audio, you don't need a professional studio, but you do need a minimum of quality. A good camera, good lighting and a streaming microphone that sounds clear can make all the difference.
- Rely on nanolearning and microlearning: the advantages of microlearning are many. Delivering content in small, short, focused doses on a single concept improves retention and reduces the feeling of overwhelm.
- Automate tasks: from class reminders to welcome emails to invoicing, anything you can automate will save you time and allow you to focus on other tasks that require human intervention, such as learner care and support.
Frequently asked questions about setting up an online competition academy
What do I need to set up a competition academy from home?
If you want to start from scratch at home, all you need is a computer, an internet connection, an e-learning platform for competitive examinations and knowledge of the competition you are going to prepare for in order to offer quality content. On a legal level, you will have to register as a freelancer and comply with data protection regulations.
How long does it take to set up an online academy?
It depends on your level of knowledge and resources, but in general, you can launch an initial version in 1-3 months. The key is not to wait until you have everything perfect, start with a minimal version and improve it with real feedback from your first students.
Can I start without having a website?
Yes, you can start in a very basic way with a landing page or social networks. But it is advisable to have your own website that will give you a medium-term positioning and from where you can generate content to attract new registrations.