Case Studies

Celebrating Success: Johnson Matthey – Princess Royal Training Awards 2024

At CQM Training & Consultancy, we are thrilled to celebrate the outstanding achievement of Johnson Matthey, who have been honoured with the prestigious Princess Royal Training Award 2024. We are proud to have played a key role in their journey by delivering these programmes.

Celebrating Success: Supporting Johnson Matthey in Winning the Princess Royal Training Awards 2024

At CQM Training & Consultancy, we are thrilled to celebrate the outstanding achievement of Johnson Matthey, who have been honoured with the prestigious Princess Royal Training Award 2024. This recognition is a testament to their commitment to operational excellence through lean six sigma training and development, and we are proud to have played a key role in their journey by delivering these programmes.

The Princess Royal Training Awards, created by City & Guilds, recognise organisations that demonstrate exceptional employee training and development programmes. These awards are not just a badge of honour but a reflection of a deep commitment to fostering talent and driving continuous improvement within an organisation.

Here is a snippet of the award win, which is for providing apprentices with green skills needed for the future:

“As a global leader in sustainable technologies, Johnson Matthey developed a Lean Six Sigma Apprenticeship Programme which is closely aligned to the strategic aims of the business. Focusing on growth in emerging green technology markets, apprentices deliver strategic projects that lead to sustained benefits back to the business, including a 90% retention rate over 4 years and impressive, proven annual savings linked to the programme.”

Our Collaboration with Johnson Matthey

We have been working with Johnson Matthey for a number of years and they originally approached us with a vision to integrate quality lean six sigma training into their business, furthermore, creating a continuous improvement culture that harnesses their key talent and supports their ESG initiatives and needs for sustainability. They sought a partner who could bring innovative training methodologies, industry expertise, and a tailored approach to meet their specific needs in order to create something that aligned with their organisational goals.

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Aleem Khalid is one the very first learners to achieve the Improvement Leader L6 apprenticeship in the UK. This has been a catalyst for Aleem to become a Master Black Belt within Johnson Matthey, leading strategic deployment of improvement activity and an expert coach to the internal network of Improvement Professionals.

He is also an ongoing mentor to L3-L5 candidates, inspiring the next generation of those driving continuous improvement.

Andy Cheshire

Managing Director, CQM Training & Consultancy

The Path to Success

The journey to the Princess Royal Training Award was marked by dedication, hard work, and a strong partnership. Together with Johnson Matthey, we focused on:

Tailoring the Improvement Apprenticeships: In particular, the Improvement Practitioner Level 4 programme, we focussed on how we could make it bespoke and relevant to industry and business objectives, ensuring a direct impact on their operational success. We underpinned the Improvement Practitioner with Lean Six Sigma Green Belt accreditation which added an additional recognised qualification for those completing the course. We also provided 1:1 and group coaching support throughout including for the work based projects that form part of end point assessment, working closely with the end point assessment organisation (EPAO) to prepare them for this.

Measurable Outcomes: We implemented rigorous assessment tools to measure the effectiveness of the training and work based projects, in what we call our profit improvement plan, helping Johnson Matthey demonstrate tangible improvements in performance and productivity. This document clearly defines the projects and outcomes, including annual cost savings, to represent return on investment and the impact of the training.

Ongoing Support: Our collaboration did not end with the delivery of the training. We provided continuous support, feedback, and enhancements to ensure that the learning was sustainable and adaptable to future needs.

A Shared Achievement

Winning the Princess Royal Training Award is a milestone that belongs to everyone involved. We congratulate Johnson Matthey for their visionary leadership and their commitment to nurturing their people. Their success is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of their entire team, including Donatienne Phillips, Transformation Director, who spearheaded the application and works closely with CQM Training & Consultancy.

For us at CQM, this achievement reinforces our belief in the power of collaboration and customised, business focussed training solutions. We are proud to have contributed to Johnson Matthey’s success and look forward to continuing our partnership as they strive for even greater heights.

Images from different cohorts taking part in interactive training, including measurement systems analysis exercises.

Looking Ahead to Future Training

As we celebrate this remarkable achievement, we are inspired to continue our mission of supporting organisations in their pursuit of excellence. The Princess Royal Training Awards highlight the importance of investing in people, and we remain committed to helping businesses unlock their full potential through world-class training programmes.

Across our wider group with Instructus, Springboard Consultancy have also supported South Wales Police with the in-house delivery of the acclaimed Springboard Work & Personal Development Programme for Women which has also won in the Princess Royal Training Awards 2024. Personal and professional development goes hand in hand with skills-based training, and for South Wales Police to have 97 women being promoted from 145 participants is just incredible.

If you would like to find out more about how we could help your organisation invest in its people, contact us today.

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