Level 3 Improvement Technician

Level 3 Improvement Technician Apprenticeship

Yellow belt ( optional upgrade to green belt)

As an apprentice, you will learn how Lean and Six Sigma methodologies can enhance productivity, reduce waste, and improve overall efficiency within the business.

Apprentices will gain practical experience from our industry expert tutors with a wealth of experience and knowledge gained over years working across various business sectors and roles.

The apprenticeship is delivered through in-person sessions at Whyy? Change, in an open cohort capped at 10 apprentices, with a dedicated tutor supporting you throughout the entire duration of the programme.

What is an apprenticeship?

An apprenticeship is a blend of a full-time job with training. The apprentice will roughly split their time 80/20, with the majority of their working time spent carrying out their day-to-day job responsibilities. A minimum of 6 hours per week of their normal working time will be ‘off-the-job’ and spent working towards their apprenticeship qualification.

Critical to the success of the apprenticeship, the apprentice must be actively working towards their apprenticeship standard for at least 6 hours per week of the time for which they are paid, over a minimum duration of 13 months.

For consistency, the minimum off-the-job training hours for each course are set by the Department of Education. Depending on how the course is planned and delivered, the number of hours required to successfully complete the apprenticeship may be higher than the statutory minimum.

 

Who is the Improvement Technician apprenticeship for?

There are a variety of job roles that a Level 3 Improvement Technician might be in. These include, but are not limited to: Business Improvement Co-ordinator, Continuous Improvement Practitioner, Process Technician, Operational Excellence/Lean Engineer, Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt, Quality Control Analyst, Environmental Compliance Technician, Environmental Construction Oversight Officer, Environmental Health and Safety Inspector, and Transportation Planner.

Apprenticeship learning route benefits

  • • You will have weekly face-to-face delivery sessions (minimum of 3 hours per week)
  • • 95% - 100% funding available for the apprenticeship programme
  • • Apprentices are allocated at least 6 hours of their work time each week to complete the apprenticeship (a minimum of 3 hours at Whyy? Change and a minimum of 3 hours spent applying the learning in the workplace)
  • • Our expert practitioners will deliver interactive and engaging sessions

Don't just take our word for it...

Ava from AESSEAL plc spoke to us about her Level 3 Improvement Technician apprenticeship experience. Here’s what she had to say:

“Whyy? Change are an outstanding training provider, offering full and in-depth apprenticeship courses suited for all. I have recently completed and excelled in my Improvement Technician Apprenticeship course led by Ray. All the staff are outstanding in what they do, with exceptional knowledge in many areas, making them a well-rounded team. I would certainly recommend Whyy? Change.”

What will you study on the level 3 apprenticeship?

  • Compliance: Legislative and customer compliance requirements, including environmental and health and safety standards
  • Team formation & leadership: Improvement team roles and responsibilities within a change environment
  • Project management: Project charters, Gantt charts, reporting documentation, Red Amber Green (RAG) status, communication (verbal and non-verbal channels), and implementation plans
  • Change management: The roles of managers and leaders within change, including influencing, reinforcement, and coaching principles
  • Principles & methods: Six Sigma principles in line with ISO 13053 (International Organisation for Standardisation), interim containment actions, Lean principles
  • Project selection & scope: Selection matrix and scoping tree
  • Problem definition: Exploratory data analysis, data collection planning, problem and goal statements
  • Data acquisition for analysis: Data stratification, sampling theory, data types, variation types and sources, data collection tools, operational definition, and principles of measurement error
  • • Basic statistics & measures: Control charts
  • Process capability & performance: Capability analysis for continuous data
  • Sustainability & control: Process

Career Development

Continuous Improvement Engineer
£27,000
Improvement Engineer
£36,000
Average UK salary data from Glassdoor salary checker, April 2022.

Eligibility

At Whyy? Change, we assess every potential apprentice to ensure they are eligible for the apprenticeship. We will also discuss what both the apprentice and employer would like to gain from the programme.

  • Aged 16 or over (no upper age limit)
  • Employed
  • Living in the UK or EU for the past 3 years
  • Not on any other fully funded training course
  • Individual employers will set their own entry requirements

Whether apprentices are attending in-person training sessions, or developing their knowledge and experience through real-life situations in the workplace, they will gain the skills needed to address skills gaps and apply what they have learned at Whyy? Change. To do this effectively, they require dedicated time to develop and become accomplished Improvement Technicians over the duration of the apprenticeship. In turn, your business will reap the benefits of this investment of time.

Once the learning has been completed, apprentices will be independently assessed to confirm their understanding and ability to apply their new knowledge, skills and behaviours. This assessment will take place through a range of methods that are both challenging and valuable for their long-term career development.

Discover our Lean & Six Sigma (Lean6) courses.

What are the benefits of this apprenticeship/accreditation?

  1. Nationally recognised qualification

The Level 3 Improvement Technician apprenticeship is a nationally recognised qualification and highly regarded within businesses, increasing your professional credibility and future career opportunities.

 

  1. Practical and applicable

Apply the knowledge, skills, and behaviours developed through the core aspects of Lean and put them into practice straight away in your role.

 

  1. Personal and professional development

Further your personal and professional development within a growing Lean environment. As your role progresses and your lean journey evolves, you will develop yourself both personally and professionally, becoming more confident in all aspects of Lean and continuous improvement techniques.

12 – 13 months

Improvement Technician Apprenticeship

Price

Funding Available: £4,000

Certificate

ISO 18404:2015 Lean6 Yellow Belt

Whyy? HQ or Onsite

Unit 7B, AESSEAL New York Stadium, New York Way, Rotherham, S60 1FJ

apprenticeships logo

What is Lean Six Sigma?

Lean Six Sigma is a highly successful methodology for improving any manufacturing or business process. Applying this methodology aims to improve performance by systematically removing waste and reducing variation.

Still not sure?

Ava Jones
Business Assurance Officer, AESSEAL plc
Read More
Whyy? Change are an outstanding training provider, offering full and in-depth apprenticeship courses suited for all. I have recently completed and excelled in my Improvement Technician Apprenticeship course led by Ray. All the staff are outstanding in what they do, with exceptional knowledge in many areas, making them a well-rounded team. I would certainly recommend Whyy? Change.
Julia Bloomer
Head of Learning & Development and HR, AESSEAL plc
Read More
Having worked with Whyy? Change for a number of years, I have had nothing but excellent feedback from every apprentice or team member who has engaged in training with them. The whole Whyy? Change team go that extra mile to ensure that learners find the best way to learn for them and encourage and inspire success.
Amanda Hammer
Digital Designer, Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council
Read More
I decided to do an apprenticeship to develop my skills in my role and was thrilled to come away with a distinction Level 4 Improvement Practitioner. Whilst Lean doesn’t always fit in my work environment I have come away with many tools and techniques that I can use to make my work more effective. The team at Whyy Change were friendly and informative and fully supported us through Covid-19 lockdowns, supporting us with regular Zoom calls when we were unable to visit the office.
Darren Jones
Innovation Manager, AESSEAL PLC
Read More
Since my first interactions with Whyy? Change I have been incredibly impressed with their passion and drive for learning and development. This coupled with the tailored and personal service they provide stands them head and shoulders above other training providers. They are an absolute must training provider to be considered in any learning and development strategy.

Funding

The Improvement Technician Apprenticeship costs £4,000. You can get 95-100% funding available to your employer for the apprenticeship. To access this funding, all employers must have digital apprenticeship account.

During their apprenticeship, the apprentice has the opportunity to complete an additional set of modules. This is an additional cost of £1295 + VAT, which enhances the training to Green belt certification

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Want to know more?

Knowledge

they’ll learn

  1. Compliance 
  2. Team formation and Leadership
  3. Self-Development
  4. Project Management
  5. Change Management
  6. Principles and Methods
  7. Project Selection and Scope
  8. Problem definition
  9. Process mapping and Analysis
  10. Data acquisition for analysis
  11. Basic Statistics and measures
  12. Process capability and Performance
  13. Root cause analysis
  14. Experimentation
  15. Identification and prioritisation
  16. Sustainability and Control Skills statements

Skills

they’ll develop

  1. Compliance Assessment method
  2. Communication R P
  3. Project management
  4. Change management
  5. Principles and Methods
  6. Project Selection and Scoping
  7. Problem Definition
  8. Voice of the Customer
  9. Process Mapping and Analysis
  10. Lean Tools
  11. Data Acquisition for Analysis
  12. Basic Statistics and Measures
  13. Data Analysis – Statistical Methods
  14. Process capability and performance
  15. Root Cause Analysis
  16. Identification & Prioritization
  17. Bench-marking
  18. Sustainability & Control

Behaviours

they’ll adopt

  1. Drive for results
  2. Team-working
  3. Professionalism
  4. Continuous Development
  5. Safe Working