Apprenticeships

Lean Six Sigma and Quality Apprenticeship Training Provider

Capella are on the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers (ROATP), for the Quality and Improvement standards.

Our apprenticeships start at Level 3 and go all the way up to Level 6, which is a degree level programme. This enables organisations to develop talent from career starters, to senior leaders, as well as upskilling their existing workforce. Providing high quality training throughout an employee's career. 

 

Lean Six Sigma

The Improvement standards align to the Lean Six Sigma Belts, so learners receive 2 certificates on successful completion: an Institute for Apprenticeship certificate and the equivalent Lean Six Sigma certificate at the relevant level i.e. Yellow, Green, Black, or Master Black Belt.

The Improvement standards include a blend of Lean, Six Sigma, Design for Six Sigma, Project Management, Change Management, and Leadership. Designed to equip your people with essential Continuous Improvement knowledge, skills, and behaviours.

 

Find out more

You can download a 1 page summary, which will tell you more about each level, via the links below:

Level 3 Improvement Technician - aimed at those who want to develop basic Problem Solving and Process Improvement methods and tools, Project and Change Management, Teamworking and Interpersonal Skills

Level 4 Improvement Practitioner - aimed at those who want to develop Problem Solving and Process Improvement methods and tools, Project and Change Management, Team Leadership and Coaching

Level 5 Improvement Specialist - aimed at those who want to develop Continuous Improvement Strategy deployment and management, Advanced Tools for complex problem solving, Coaching and Mentoring

Level 6 Improvement Leader - aimed at those who want to develop Continuous Improvement Strategy and Leadership, Advanced Tools for higher level data analysis, Training, Coaching and Mentoring

Quality Standards

Capella also deliver the Level 4 Quality Practitioner apprenticeship standard. This standard includes modules on Quality Planning, Quality Assurance, Quality Control and Continuous Improvement. Designed to build capability and confidence to deploy best-in-class Quality tools and practices.

Find out more

You can download a 1 page summary here:

Level 4 Quality Practitioner - aimed at those who work in a Quality role.

Learning Delivery

We have a blended learning approach which consists of:

  • tutor led, bite sized training sessions
  • 1 to 1 coaching with the course tutor throughout the apprenticeship
  • supporting resources and reference materials

Recruiting an Apprentice

Both the Improvement and Quality standards can be used to recruit apprentices, as a progression route into an organisation, or wider industry, once completed.

You'll need to register for an apprenticeship account to recruit an apprentice. You can do this here Create an Apprenticeship Service Account

You can Reserve government funding using your account to help cover apprenticeship training and assessment costs. You may also be able to benefit from a transfer of funds from a larger business.

You can advertise your apprenticeship for free on Find an apprenticeship, the official government website for apprenticeship opportunities in England, which is used by thousands of registered candidates.

Capella also provide Apprenticeship Levy guidance to help you with the compliance, admin and management of your Levy-funded programmes.

Chartered Quality Institute

For those looking to become members of a Professional Body, we've negotiated a free membership application to the Chartered Quality Institute (CQI). Learners will qualify for Practitioner status, on successful completion of their apprenticeship. Benefits of joining the CQI, include access to fantastic member only resources, to support career development, and professional networking and mentoring.

You can download the document to find out more and contact us with any questions here: Free membership application to the Chartered Quality Institute (5284 KB)

Why Choose Capella?

We were involved in developing the Apprenticeship Standards and Assessment Plans for the Improvement suite and Quality Practitioner, so we understand them deeply.

We consulted widely to develop our training materials and they've been approved by Toyota, so you can be confident they're benchmarked against Best in Class.

This means we're able to share best practice and deliver really rich learning programmes.

Capella's governance is robust and Continuous Improvement underpins everything we do.

"Apprentices develop significant new skills, knowledge and behaviours. As a result, they enjoy greater responsibilities in their jobs. Employers are right to value this highly."

 

Capella are an award winning training provider...

  • Shortlisted as Finalists for the Learning Excellence Award 2023. This is in recognition of our drive to enhance learning outcomes and sustainability.
  • Shortlisted as a Finalist for the Learning Impact Award 2023. This demonstrates our training includes evaluation and measurement strategies, with quantified positive outcomes.
  • Winner - International Chartered Quality Institute Quality Organisation of the Year Award 2020. This demonstrates our openness to scrutiny and feedback and the quality of our work.
  • Winner - Outstanding Achievement Award CQI 2020. Recognises our contribution to developing capability in the Quality profession.
  • Winner - MOD Quality Award for Inspiring Leadership. This shows our commitment to excellence.
  • Finalist - British Quality Foundation Collaboration Award, for our work with Wilko on Continuous Improvement strategy. This reflects the strength of our partnerships.
  • Finalist - Chartered Quality Institute Quality Organisation of the Year Award 2019.
  • Finalist - Semta Skills Award, Skills Innovation of the Year 2016. This was for our collaboration with Toyota on building Improvement expertise for them and the wider industry.

Whatever the age or competence of your workforce, you can use the Levy to make valuable improvements in skills and drive achievement of KPIs for any process, delivering improvements in Safety, Quality, Cost, Delivery and Environmental performance.

Under the current rules, you’re not limited by the value of your own vouchers – you simply contribute 5% to the cost if you go over your allocation.

Apprenticeships - Our approach
Apprenticeships - Support resources
  • Client Testimonials

    Examples of Our Clients

    • Testimonials

    • Capella have provided a superbly structured programme, and have proven to be entirely supportive of delegates in completing their apprenticeship with confidence. Key to this has been the instructor’s knowledge of the subject matter, allowing him to apply the theory to a variety of scenarios in the delegates’ work. We have appreciated the instructor being approachable, flexible and understanding of the challenges of extra-curricula activity for people with busy jobs. All staff that we’ve engaged with at Capella have been professional, welcoming and clear in their communication.

      Mark Robbins, Retail and Pension Operations Training and Communications, Fidelity International

    • Capella’s focus on developing long-term relationships and their continual search for innovative approaches to upskilling has enabled Toyota and many other employers to learn and apply best practice Problem Solving tools which deliver great outcomes for all. In our experience, no other training provider has taken such a lead role in the development of sector wide initiatives such as the Automotive Industrial Partnership and development of the ‘improvement suite’ of Apprenticeship standards. Capella constantly seeks innovative opportunities to deliver an excellent service to the learner and to the business.

      Paul Fitzpatrick | Senior Manager | Toyota UK

    • We have found Capella really professional and flexible and their passion for delivering high quality training is a culture we have in common between us and has made working with them highly beneficial. Their knowledge of the automotive sector in particular has also been very useful and has simplified working together to create a really excellent training programme. In addition, they have managed to modify their usual commercial programmes in line with government approved apprenticeship standards, which has enabled us to utilise our Apprenticeship Levy to fund the training.

      Chris Bauman | Group Managing Director

    • Capella are delivering the Business Improvement L4 programme to a cohort of 12 staff at our Barnard Castle site. We chose Capella after a series of meeting with Kate and her team and from day 1 we have been impressed with the professionalism, enthusiasm and knowledge of the team. The staff have really thrived on the learning schedule and through working with the programme tutors and we have had nothing but positive feedback. Internal changes on site have impacted on the programme delivery, which Capella took this in their stride, adapting delivery timelines, providing support and working with those facing change has added another dimension to the relationship that has been developed between the site and Capella. While still in delivery mode GSK already believes that the programme has been a success for all involved and we look forward to its completion and sharing that success within the organisation.

      Tim Buchanan | Apprenticeship Vendor Manager | Talent, Leadership and Organisation Development- Centre of Excellence

    • Capella worked closely with Wilko to deeply understand our needs at a strategic and operational level, helping us to jointly explore a range of options to meet these needs. Capella have an experienced team of Lean Six Sigma experts. Their programme design, management expertise and resources are second to none. Wilko have been allocated a dedicated Account Manager which helps us ensure the learner is always front of mind. Capella’s programmes have developed the knowledge, skills and drive of our Wilko delegates to seek and implement improvements in every process, constantly reducing costs, waste and inefficiencies. Capella also enabled Wilko’s leadership of continuous improvement to be showcased through the publication of an extensive article for the Chartered Quality Institute's Quality World magazine.

      Teresa Ward, Wilko Talent Programme Manager, Wilko

    • I would sincerely like to thank you again and the fabulous team at Capella for the dedication shown in achieving the Black Belt qualification. It is such a pleasure to work so closely with passionate professional people and I hope our partnership continues to grow especially with the role out of the new standards.

      Richard Bates, Managing Director, Qualitrain

    • "Capella are a company that keep to their word, they have supported me fully during and even after my projects have been completed. The coaching team are always on hand to help with any issues and often put themselves out to ensure support is available. Highly recommend anyone looking to progress their career to take a look at Capella."

      Chris Woodcock, Jaguar Land Rover