Improvement Apprenticeships at Capella
Improvement Apprenticeships at Capella include all the Improvement Apprenticeship standards from Level 3 to Level 6. We were part of the trailblazer group that developed these standards and were one of the first training providers to launch these programmes, so we understand them really well. Capella were also recognised for our ‘Outstanding Contribution to Apprenticeships’ for our work as part of the trailblazer group and winner of the Chartered Quality Institute’s ‘Organisation of the Year’ in 2020.

One of the great things about our Improvement apprenticeships is that they’re dual certified and include not only a certificate from the Institute for Apprenticeships, but also a Lean Six Sigma certificate at the relevant level as follows:
Level 3 Improvement Technician (Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt)
Level 4 Improvement Practitioner (Lean Six Sigma Green Belt)
Level 5 Improvement Specialist (Lean Six Sigma Black Belt)
Level 6 Improvement Leader (Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt)
How much will the programme cost?
Apprenticeship training is funded through the apprenticeship levy. If you’re working for a large employer with a pay bill of more than £3M per annum they must pay 0.5% of their pay bill into the levy each year. This then gives them access to 100% levy funding to pay for apprenticeship training.
For smaller, non-levy employers the Government co-invests in your training to ensure that you also have access to funding, meaning you can still use apprenticeships to train your workforce.
If you work for an employer who doesn’t pay the apprenticeship levy the cost of the programme would be funded by:

- Your employer who pays just 5% towards the cost of the programme (e.g. £300 for a £6,000 Level 4 Improvement Practitioner apprenticeship programme)
- And the Government who will pay the other 95%
Recruiting an Apprentice
If you’re recruiting a new apprentice there are a number of Government incentives.
Employers will receive £3,000 for new apprentices of any age who join their organisation from 1st April 2021 to 30 September 2021. This incentive payment is in addition to the £1,000 employers already receive for hiring an apprentice:
- Aged 16 to 18 years old;
- Under 25 years with an education, health and care plan or who has been in the care of their local authority.
Further details on Incentive Payments for hiring a new apprentice can be found here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/incentive-payments-for-hiring-a-new-apprentice
When would I have to pay?
As the Employer you would pay the training provider the 5% contribution to the cost of the programme directly, over the lifetime of the apprenticeship training (as a minimum the payment would be spread over 12 months).
What do I need to do to access this Apprenticeship training?
From April 2021 all employers must use the apprenticeship service to access apprenticeship training.
If an employer doesn’t pay the apprenticeship levy:
- You will need to create an apprenticeship service account. You can do this by clicking on the link apprenticeship service account.
- You will need to reserve funds for apprenticeship training in the ‘Finance’ section of your apprenticeship service account. You can also give your training provider permission to reserve funds on your behalf.
- You will pay 5% contribution to the cost of training and the Government will pay the remaining 95%
- You will pay the 5% contribution to the cost of training over the lifetime of the apprenticeship training.
- From April 2021, you can ‘reserve’ funds up to 6months in advance of the expected start date
In the financial year 2021 to 2022 each employer who does not pay the levy can make up to 10 new reservations to fund new starts.
You will need to know:
- Which apprenticeship programme
- What month the apprenticeship training starts
What does the funding cover?
- All training, coaching and review sessions
- Access to training resources
- End point assessment via independent third party
- Certificate from the Institute for Apprenticeships
If you want to find out more about any of our Improvement or Quality apprenticeships please contact us. We hold online information sessions twice a week. You can book onto one of these sessions by contacting sales@capellaassociates.com