Improvement Practitioner Apprenticeship

Babcock International

Plymouth (PL1 4SG)

Closes on Thursday 12 March 2026

Posted on 2 December 2025

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Summary

Our 2-year Improvement Practitioner Apprenticeship is a great opportunity to develop the skills that make a real impact. You’ll help identify better ways of working, support business transformation, and contribute to a culture of continuous improvement across one of the UK’s most advanced engineering sites.

• Wage:

  £21,641 a year

  Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

  Post apprenticeship: £36,000+

• Training course: Improvement practitioner (level 4)
• Hours: Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm

  35 hours a week

• Start date:

  Tuesday 1 September 2026

• Duration:

  2 years

• Positions available:

  2

Work

Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.

What you'll do at work

Continuous improvement sits at the heart of how we work. As an Improvement Practitioner Apprentice, you’ll collaborate with experienced professionals to identify inefficiencies, streamline processes and put sustainable changes into action that enhance performance and value.

This exciting role involves applying Lean, Six Sigma and project management principles to analyse problems, map processes and deliver measurable results. You’ll gather and interpret data, use root cause analysis techniques, and take part in workshops that bring colleagues together to share ideas and develop new solutions.

Experience comes from variety. You’ll have the chance to work across different business areas - from production and planning to logistics and project support - building a clear picture of how each team contributes to our shared success. It’s a mix of analysis, collaboration and creativity that makes a real impact on how we operate.

Throughout the programme, support will come from mentors, line managers and our Early Careers team, helping you grow in confidence, develop technical capability and strengthen your professional judgement. 

By the end of your apprenticeship, you’ll have a solid understanding of how data-driven decision-making supports operational excellence and continuous improvement across the business. 

Where you'll work

Devonport Royal Dockyard
Devonport
Plymouth
PL1 4SG

Training

Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.

Training provider

CAPELLA ASSOCIATES LTD

Training course

Improvement practitioner (level 4)

Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)

What you'll learn

Course contents

• Compliance: Work in accordance with organisational controls and statutory regulations
• Communication: Speak and write clearly. Influence others, question effectively. Plan and deliver meetings presenting insight to engage audiences
• Coaching: Observe, listen, use questioning, provide feedback and spot learning opportunities
• Project management: Define, sequence, plan and schedule activities with phases and milestones. Estimate effort and duration. Create and update project charter. Review progress
• Change management: Sponsorship contract, surface and manage resistance, build compelling narratives for change, assess change impact
• Principals and Methods: Select and apply a structured method and appropriate improvement tools engaging with subject matter experts to deliver business benefits
• Project selection and Scoping: Support the identification of improvement opportunity and the scoping of these projects
• Problem definition: Support development of problem/opportunity statements
• Voice of the customer: Support application of techniques to identify and prioritise customers, their requirements and ensure balance against the stated and unstated needs of the business (Voice of the Business)
• Process mapping & analysis: Process map to measure and analyse flow and value. Identify interfaces, functional responsibilities and ownership. Use insight to identify potential opportunities and map future state
• Lean tools: Seek in-process waste through understanding of value within the value stream
• Measurements systems: Plan, carry out and assess results of a measurement system study
• Data acquisition for analysis: Develop a sampling strategy
• Basic statistics & measures: Use graphical analysis to understand distribution and stability
• Data analysis-statistical methods: Identify data-types and select analysis methods and tools. Assess time series data stability and analyse making relevant insight
• Process capability & performance: Select methods and metrics for analysis
• Root cause analysis: Select and apply the appropriate graphical tool dependent on the data type to identify patterns, trends and signals to establish hypothesis
• Experimentation & optimisation: Plan designed experiment with clear objectives, and appropriate levels of Measurement Systems Analysis, analyse experiment data and optimise
• Identification & prioritisation: Identify and prioritise factors, ideas and solutions
• Data analysis – SPC: Select and apply appropriate tools for ongoing monitoring and control. Analyse and interpret control charts
• Benchmarking: Conduct structured benchmarking to support target setting
• Sustainability & control: Identify failure modes and embed learning from improvements

Training schedule

As part of your apprenticeship, you’ll study for the Level 4 Improvement Practitioner Apprenticeship Standard through PMI (Process Management International).

Training is delivered through a blend of virtual learning and onsite sessions at Devonport, giving you the chance to apply theory directly to live business challenges. 

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE in:

• Any subject (grade 4/C or above)
• Any subject (grade 4/C or above)
• Any subject (grade 4/C or above)
• English (grade 4/C or above)
• Maths (grade 4/C or above)

A Level in:

• Any subject (grade C or above)
• Any subject (grade C or above)
• Any subject (grade C or above)

Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.

Skills

• Communication skills
• Attention to detail
• Team working

Other requirements

Many of our apprenticeship programmes are subject to Security Clearance and Trade Control restrictions which mean that your place of birth, nationality, citizenship, or residency you hold or have held may impact which programmes you are eligible for. For this programme, you must be able to achieve Baseline Personnel Security Standard (BPSS) and Security Check (SC) clearance. Further details are available at United Kingdom Security Vetting: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/united-kingdom-security-vetting-clearance-levels/national-security-vetting-clearance-levels

About this employer

Babcock is an international defence company providing support and product solutions to enhance our customers’ defence capabilities and critical assets. We provide through-life technical and engineering support for our customers’ assets, delivering improvements in performance, availability and programme cost. Our c27,700 employees deliver these critical services to defence and civil customers, including engineering support to naval, land, air and nuclear operations, frontline support, specialist training and asset management. We also design and manufacture a range of defence and civil specialist equipment, from naval ship and weapons handling systems to liquid gas handling systems. We also provide integrated, technology-enabled solutions to our defence customers in areas such as secure communications, electronic warfare and air defence.

https://earlycareers.babcockinternational.com/apprenticeships/ (opens in new tab)

Company benefits

• Fully funded qualification • Personal development training and opportunities • Minimum 28 days holiday allowance including bank holidays • Competitive pension scheme • Employee share scheme • Flexible benefits including cycle to work scheme

Disability Confident

A fair proportion of interviews for this apprenticeship will be offered to applicants with a disability or long-term health condition. This includes non-visible disabilities and conditions.

You can choose to be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident scheme. You’ll need to meet the essential requirements to be considered for an interview.

After this apprenticeship

By the end of your apprenticeship, you’ll be ready to take on roles such as Continuous Improvement Analyst, Operational Excellence Coordinator or Business Improvement Specialist.

Upon programme completion, you can expect to earn a competitive salary exceeding £36,000.

You may also have the opportunity to pursue further qualifications, including Lean Six Sigma Black Belt certification or higher-level apprenticeships, to continue your professional development and progression.

From there, your development doesn’t stop. Through the Babcock Role Framework, you’ll have a clear view of how your career can progress, with mapped-out pathways, development opportunities and the tools you need to get wherever you want to go. 

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

CAPELLA ASSOCIATES LTD

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC2000001814.

Apply now

Closes on Thursday 12 March 2026

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