Improvement Leader Apprenticeship | Managing Business Transformation

As the employer, you need to formally nominate learners before they can apply to our apprenticeship programmes. You must also enter a three-way agreement with the apprentice and Henley Business School / the University of Reading. Find out more about the application process.

Entry requirements for the individual

ESFA Apprenticeship eligibility criteria
The government funds the apprenticeship through the employer's apprenticeship levy. Applicants should first check they are eligible to receive apprenticeship funding

Required professional experience
Applicants should have a minimum of 2 years of practical experience in a role that encourages managing and implementing improvement or transformation projects.

Apprentices on this programme must be in a role which allows for the application of the Improvement Leader Apprenticeship criteria to be demonstrated and in which substantial new learning can be gained. The baseline assessment done as part of the application will help assess this.

CV and personal statements

In their CVs and personal statements, applicants need to demonstrate professional experience, over 2 years, in a minimum of three of these areas (in no order of priority):

• Leading/managing individuals or teams in improvement activities
• Training/Coaching/mentoring of individuals or teams in improvement activities
• Designing/sourcing/facilitating and evaluating training solutions for the business to build capability in improvement principles, methods, and/or tools. Assess needs and selection of individuals for different levels of training
• Leading/managing/facilitating project management, change management tools and techniques
• Application of improvement methodologies to design a new process, product, or service. Guide improvement practitioners on the selection of improvement methods
• Application of process mapping & analysis principles and tools
• Application of data acquisition planning, data analysis and statistics. Guide others on the planning, analysis, and interpretation of data collection and measurement studies
• Identification and prioritisation of new opportunities in the context of a portfolio of multiple improvement projects
• Guide others on the planning, analysis and interpretation of experiments. Plan, conduct, analyse and optimise both full and fractional experiments
• Application of problem-solving methods.

Applicants must not already be a Lean Master, Senior Lean Leader, Senior Navigator, Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, or Senior Consultant.

See here for the Improvement Leader Occupational Standard and Assessment plan for this apprenticeship.

English and maths requirements to complete the apprenticeship

Apprentices will need to hold Level 2 qualifications in English and maths (i.e. GCSEs at Grades 9-4 or A*-C, or equivalent) to successfully complete their apprenticeship programme.

The Improvement Leader Apprenticeship | Managing Business Transformation costs £15,000. Your organisation can fund this with its apprenticeship service account. All employers will need to have an account to access our apprenticeship service.

Dates for the next intake are to be confirmed. Please contact our apprenticeships team for further information.

Apprentices will spend a minimum of six hours per week (equivalent) of their time on ‘off-the-job training’. This is a mandatory component of an apprenticeship that the employer must support them with. Both the learner and employer need to agree on how this time is set aside around the learner's work commitments as it is training that they will undertake during their paid hours. Off-the-job training is not exclusive to workshops and online study sessions - other examples include:

• Practical training: shadowing, mentoring and industry visits
• Chairing or attending meetings (outside the normal job function)
• Learning support and time spent writing assignments
• Meeting with the apprenticeship tutor
• Working on their evidence portfolio.

Additional support for the apprentice comes from their line manager. We will engage with them to ensure they understand the details of the programme and format for learning as well as the requirements for off-the-job training. Line managers will also be involved in agreeing on impactful work-based projects, meeting with the apprenticeship learning coach, and, if required, allocating apprentices a mentor.

During the action learning workshops and through some of the online learning apprentices will have the opportunity to learn from our academic staff, whose knowledge and expertise underpin the modules they will study.​

The Improvement Leader Apprenticeship programme will be taught using a blended learning method that combines learning in the workplace with face-to-face workshops* and online learning. In the workshops, apprentices will have the opportunity to learn from Henley's apprenticeship learning coaches who have relevant background experience in these subject areas.

The programme includes:

• Blended learning combines face-to-face workshops, with the virtual learning environment (VLE). The VLE provides access to resources and learning coach interactions to develop your learning portfolio which allows you to reflect on the knowledge, skills and behaviours that you develop throughout the programme
• Application of learning in the workplace: Implementation of the new tools, techniques and methodologies learnt, with guidance from Henley academic staff and learning coaches
• Continuous 360-degree reviews of your progress with you, your line manager and Henley learning coaches

• Liaison with the learner's employer and line manager to determine the topics to use in the work-based projects

The learning in the workplace is supported by ten core modules. These will be delivered through a combination of online learning and experiential learning through application in the workplace, supported by a learning coach.

This apprenticeship programme consists of three streams delivered over three stages.

Each stream includes three modules tailored to core aspects of improvement and leadership. Apprentices study each module for an eight-week period, with each stage lasting six months. In addition to the stream-specific modules, all learners will be provided a content of ‘Apprenticeship Essentials’ which will enable learners to engage in resources to meet the OFSTED requirements.

At the end of each eight-week module, apprentices complete a 1,500-word work-based project. When completing these projects, learners focus on improving a process, system, product or leadership approach. The work-based assessments form part of each apprentice’s portfolio for their end-point assessment (EPA).

The EPA also includes a work-based dissertation of 4,000-5,000 words. This assessment focuses on the development and deployment of an improvement strategy. Learners present their work to assessors for 45-50 minutes, followed by a questioning session of 35-40 minutes.

Dr Sinem Bulkan is an experienced lecturer in Leadership and Organisational Behaviour at Henley. Her specialities include the impact of ‘dark leadership’ on employees’ behaviours and attitudes. She has presented her research at leading academic conferences, including the British Academy of Management.

Sinem has extensive experience in the managerial world, having worked for 12 years as a regional sales manager and finance manager in Istanbul. She combines her award-winning academic credentials with her business experience to teach apprentices the most effective leadership strategies.

The assessment process allows learners to showcase the impact of their work and learning with the submission of a work-based project at the end of each module. ​

Learners will collect evidence of knowledge, skills and behaviours as they progress through the programme. They will then showcase this evidence in the final stage of the apprenticeship. This is known as the end-point assessment (EPA), comprising an evidence portfolio and work-based dissertation.

On successful completion of the EPA, learners will hold:

• Level 6 Improvement Leader Apprenticeship
• Henley Executive Diploma in Managing Business Transformation.

For clients who want to run a closed cohort, we have the flexibility to deliver the programme at locations nationwide. If you do not want to use your organisation's facilities, we are happy to arrange an alternative teaching venue that is more convenient for your staff.

Henley Business School also delivers open cohorts in venues across the country. We typically deliver our first and last workshops at our Greenlands campus near Henley-on-Thames. Set in sweeping parkland on the banks of the River Thames, this beautiful campus provides an inspiring and reflective environment for focused work and study.

Find out more about our facilities and how to find us