Apprenticeship training course

Improvement technician (level 3)

There are 42 training providers who offer this course.

Information about Improvement technician (level 3)

Responsible for delivery and coaching of improvement activity within an area of responsibility.

• Knowledge, skills and behaviours:
  View knowledge, skills and behaviours

  Knowledge

  • Compliance: Legislative and customer compliance requirements including environment and health and safety
  • Team formation & leadership: Improvement team roles and responsibilities in a change environment
  • Self-development: Different sources for knowledge development
  • Project management: Project charter, Gantt chart, reporting documentation, Red Amber Green (RAG) status, communication (verbal and non-verbal channels) and implementation plans
  • Change management: Roles of the manager and leader within change. Influencing, reinforcement and coaching principles
  • Principles & methods: Six Sigma principles per ISO13053 (International Organisation for Standardisation), interim containment actions, Lean principles
  • Project selection & scope: Selection matrix, scoping tree
  • Problem definition: Exploratory data analysis, data collection planning, problem and goal statements
  • Process mapping & analysis: Supplier Input Process Output Customer (SIPOC), process mapping, value and waste analysis, performance metrics - discrete data
  • 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 - discrete data
  • Process capability & performance: Capability analysis - continuous data
  • Root cause analysis: Histograms
  • Experimentation: Active analysis versus one factor at a time, Plan Do Check Act
  • Identification & prioritisation: Brainstorming, selection criteria
  • Sustainability & control: Process

  Skills

  • Compliance: Work in accordance with organisational controls and statutory regulations
  • Communication: Share improvement progress through appropriate reporting
  • Project management: Plan, manage and implement improvement activities. Identify and support management of risks. Develop the business case for improvement activity and implementation
  • Change management: Engage through communications. Reinforce – positively and negatively. Effectively coach peers
  • Principles and methods: Use a structured method and appropriate improvement tools engaging with subject matter experts to deliver business benefits
  • Project selection and Scoping: Identify and scope improvement projects and establish clear measurable objectives
  • Problem definition: Develop a problem/opportunity statement supported by validated data
  • Voice of the customer: Apply techniques to identify customers, their requirements and translate these to metrics
  • Process mapping & analysis: Apply process mapping tools to visualise processes, analyse process performance establishing key insights for performance improvement
  • Lean tools: Apply techniques such as identification and removal of 8 wastes, 5S (Sort, Shine, Set, Standardise, Sustain), standard work, kaizen, visual displays and controls, error proofing, preventative maintenance
  • Data acquisition for analysis: Develop data collection plan and validated measurement processes to understand performance
  • Basic statistics & measures: Establish patterns and trends in data over time using tally, pie, run/trend and pareto charts
  • Data analysis-statistical methods: Identify common and special cause variation
  • Process capability & performance: Analyse product/process performance using good quality data
  • Root cause analysis: Use cause and effect diagrams, technique of 5 whys and graphical analysis to understand and verify root causes
  • Identification & prioritisation: Identify and prioritise improvement solutions
  • Benchmarking: Recognise the value of sharing best practice
  • Sustainability & control: Create control and reaction plans with detection measures, identify opportunities to embed changes to leverage benefit to the business.

  Behaviours

  • Drive for results: Clear commitment for identifying opportunities and delivering improvements, pays attention to detail
  • Team-working: Helps when asked, works effectively in a diverse team, considers impact of own actions on others, motivates peers
  • Professionalism: Acts in a moral, legal and socially appropriate manner, aligns behaviours to the organisations values, trusted to working on own when appropriate
  • Continuous development: Acts upon feedback, reflects on performance and has a desire for learning
  • Safe working: Ensures safety of self and others, challenges safety#
• Apprenticeship category (sector): Business and administration
• Qualification level: 3; Equal to A level
• Course duration: 14 months
• Maximum funding: £4,000 ; Maximum government funding for ; apprenticeship training and assessment costs.
• Job titles include:
  • Business Improvement Co-ordinator
  • Continuous Improvement Executive
  • Process Technician
  • Operational Excellence/Lean Engineer
  • Lean Six Sigma Yellow belt and Quality Control Analyst
  • Environmental Compliance Technician
  • Environmental Construction Oversight
  • Environmental Health And Safety Inspector
  • Transportation Planner
  • Transportation sustainability improvement planner
  • Environmental improvement compliance technician
  • Environmental improvement health and safety inspector

View more information about Improvement technician (level 3) from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education.