Triggered announcements for events and deadlines

Purpose

1. Automatically notify apprentices, trainers, and administrators of upcoming events, application deadlines, exam schedules, and key announcements.

2. Ensure all stakeholders receive timely, platform-appropriate communications, reducing missed deadlines and boosting engagement.

3. Centralize announcement delivery across multiple touchpoints to maximize reach and streamline administrative workload.

4. Log and audit all communications for compliance and future reference.

Trigger Conditions

1. Calendar dates for apprenticeship events, exams, or deadlines become imminent (e.g., 7/3/1 days prior).

2. Manual flag by staff for urgent or unscheduled notices.

3. Status change in student management system (e.g., “application received,” “interview scheduled”).

4. New event or deadline added to the institutional calendar system.

5. Update in external event feed or integration point.

Platform Variants

1. Twilio SMS

• Feature: Programmable SMS — Configure outbound messaging via REST API; specify phone lists and message templates.
  
• Sample: POST to /Messages endpoint using dynamic phone & event/date variables.
  

2. SendGrid

• Feature: Email API — Automate transactional emails; templates with dynamic event and user data.
  
• Sample: Send via v3/mail/send with personalized content and calendared triggers.
  

3. Slack

• Feature: Incoming Webhooks — Push messages to designated #channels or DMs; structured blocks for event info.
  
• Sample: POST event payload to webhook URL with text and relevant date.
  

4. Microsoft Teams

• Feature: Messaging APIs — Send adaptive cards to teams/groups; embed action buttons (e.g., RSVP).
  
• Sample: POST to /v1.0/teams/{team-id}/channels/{channel-id}/messages.
  

5. WhatsApp Business API

• Feature: Template Messaging — Use approved templates for event/alert notifications to contacts.
  
• Sample: POST message with placeholders for event/date to /v1/messages.
  

6. Telegram Bot API

• Feature: sendMessage — Direct, group, or channel notifications; support for scheduling using cron.
  
• Sample: Call sendMessage with text, chat_id, and date/time triggers.
  

7. Google Calendar

• Feature: Event Reminders API — Create event-based notifications and pop-up/email reminders.
  
• Sample: PATCH to /calendars/{calendarId}/events/{eventId}/reminders.
  

8. Outlook (Microsoft Graph API)

• Feature: Calendar Notifications — Send event-based invitations and updates.
  
• Sample: POST event to /users/{id}/events with reminders and attendee list.
  

9. Zoom

• Feature: Meeting Invitations — Automate webinar/event email invites with calendar integration.
  
• Sample: Schedule meeting via API, trigger invite email on creation.
  

10. Mailchimp

• Feature: Automation Workflows — Trigger campaign sends based on segment and event data.
  
• Sample: Create journey with trigger “date is X days before field/date”.
  

11. HubSpot

• Feature: Workflow Automation — Email, SMS, or in-app notification on schedule or triggered event property change.
  
• Sample: Create workflow enrollment trigger “event_date is known,” send internal and external notifications.
  

12. Salesforce

• Feature: Process Builder/Flows — Automate multi-channel alerts on record updates or approaching deadlines.
  
• Sample: Triggered Flow on “Event Date Near,” send Chatter post, email, or SMS.
  

13. Pusher

• Feature: Channels API — Push real-time notifications to web/mobile apps.
  
• Sample: Trigger event “announcement” on channel “apprentices/events”.
  

14. Discord

• Feature: Webhooks — Automated bot sends DM or channel message; embeds with event details.
  
• Sample: POST structured message to webhook with event/title/date field.
  

15. PagerDuty

• Feature: Event Orchestration — Notify on urgent event/deadline as incident/alert.
  
• Sample: POST to Events API for high-priority reminders.
  

16. Amazon SNS

• Feature: Publish/Subscribe Notifications — SMS, email, or app push for event triggers.
  
• Sample: Publish message to topic “apprenticeship-events”.
  

17. Google Chat

• Feature: Webhook Bots — Announcements to rooms; format with cards for clarity.
  
• Sample: POST to webhook with event description and action links.
  

18. ClickSend

• Feature: SMS & Email API — Automated multi-format messaging, personalized alerts.
  
• Sample: POST SMS/email job with merge fields for dates and recipients.
  

19. Viber Business Messages

• Feature: Broadcast event notifications to Viber users via Messaging API.
  
• Sample: POST to /pa/send_message with event reminder template.
  

20. Facebook Messenger Platform

• Feature: Send API — Bot sends personalized event or deadline notification.
  
• Sample: POST to /me/messages with user PSID and structured message.
  

21. Intercom

• Feature: Messages API — Trigger in-app, email, or push notification based on user attribute date/event.
  
• Sample: Create message trigger “custom event deadline”.
  

22. Zendesk

• Feature: Triggers & Automations — Email, push, or in-app message on ticket or record change.
  
• Sample: Automation runs when date field is due soon; notification sent to assigned users.
  

Benefits

1. Reduces human error and oversight in critical event communication.

2. Increases engagement and participation by reaching users via preferred channels.

3. Scalable—supports hundreds or thousands of recipients automatically.

4. Ensures message consistency and compliance with institutional requirements.

5. Provides emissions audit trail and analytics on delivery and read rates.

6. Minimizes admin workload for repetitive communications.