Meet the World’s First Quality Practitioner Apprentice: Emma Harrison

Whyy? Change, a South Yorkshire based Training Provider, is thrilled to announce that Emma Harrison, the company's Managing Director, has become the world’s first Quality Practitioner Apprentice, achieving a distinction from her End Point Assessment for the Level 4 Quality Practitioner Apprenticeship.

In January 2021, Emma, 48, was one of the first apprentices to enroll onto the Quality Practitioner Level 4 apprenticeship in the world, with Whyy? Change being one of only a select few providers at the time delivering the standard.

Emma shares: “There were limited training courses that offered the breadth of knowledge that I was looking to gain, so when the Quality Practitioner apprenticeship was approved, I jumped at the chance to start.”

At the time, Emma was a Governance Officer and has since gone on to be promoted twice in two years, appointed as Governance Director and then Managing Director in September 2022.

CEO of Whyy? Change, Ray Byrne, congratulates Emma on her achievements, going on to say: “It has been a great year for Emma, and she deserves all of the accolades she receives.

"I was delighted to announce Emma moving into the position of Managing Director earlier this year, which was followed closely by taking on the role as nominee for our successful OFSTED inspection. This result just demonstrates to everyone, what I have known about Emma for some time, that she is an outstanding individual with an eye for quality, professional development, and an asset to our organisation. Whyy? Change is in safe hands with Emma at the helm.”

When it came to choosing an End Point Assessment Organisation for the apprenticeship, Emma said: “I started my Quality Practitioner apprenticeship in January 2021, as it was a new standard, I was excited to start my development journey. Once I realised that OAL were approved as EPAO (End Point Assessment Organisation) for the standard, I was instantly reassured that they would be my partner of choice for my EPA.”

CEO of Occupational Awards Limited, Jan Richardson-Wilde, said: “I am very proud that OAL are the first EPAO to carry out EPA for the Quality Practitioner standard and the fact that a colleague from one of our long-term EPA partners, Whyy? Change, was the first apprentice to complete it makes it even more special. Congratulations to Emma and Whyy? Change, the first apprentice and the first provider to complete EPA for this apprenticeship and to do so with a distinction is amazing.”

When asked about her feelings on this landmark achievement, Emma commented: “On finding out I am the 1st apprentice to have completed the Quality Practitioner, I was extremely proud of what I have achieved and to have hopefully set the bar high for future apprentices on this standard. OAL have been extremely supportive, and we look forward to continuing to work with OAL for the other Quality Practitioner, SHE Technician, Improvement Technician and Improvement Practitioner apprentices we deliver apprenticeship training to.”

Head of Partnership Development for OAL, Lee Reddington, said: “Emma truly lived up to the title of Quality Practitioner in her approach to her apprenticeship and EPA. The result speaks for itself and although Emma had expressed some worries about being the first, I knew from working with Emma and Whyy? Change for several years that she was always going to do well.”

Emma also went on to say: “To say I’m thrilled with the outcome of my EPA is an understatement, thank you to OAL and my amazing colleagues at Whyy? Change for their never-ending support when I wondered whether I could do this, don’t know why I doubted it.”

The Level 4 Quality Practitioner Apprenticeship aims to teach apprentices effective Quality Practices in their responsible area to ensure organisations fulfil the contractual and regulatory requirements of their customers and other stakeholders.

The apprenticeship is designed for Quality Practitioners who work in a wide range of organisations (from multi-nationals to SMEs), including automotive, defence, food, pharmaceutical, nuclear, retail, financial services, logistics services, public sector and government.

Whyy? Change are a leading apprenticeship provider that offer a range of apprenticeship solutions to help businesses upskill and develop their employees.

They offer accredited qualifications as a part of their level 3-7 apprenticeship standards, these are created by some of the world’s leading accreditation bodies including Lean & Six Sigma, Leadership (CMI), HR & Learning (CIPD), Marketing (CIM), Quality HSE (Bureau Veritas) and Functional Skills (Pearson Edexcel).