My Unipart Journey: Darren Herbert

In recognition of National Apprenticeship Week (5 - 11 February), we share our second My Unipart Journey story featuring a colleague who has completed a Unipart apprenticeship.

Darren Herbert, Principal Design & Development Engineer, recently achieved his Level 6 Improvement Leader qualification alongside Alan James, who was featured in last week’s My Unipart Journey story.

Darren began his engineering career in 1995 with his first apprenticeship in Mechanical Engineering. He then went on to obtain his ONC (Ordinary National Certificate) and HNC (Higher National Certificate), and achieved a 2:1 BEng Hons degree in The Management of Manufacturing Systems, all whilst working full time. His engineering career has taken him all over the world, and he’s recently reached his five-year anniversary at Unipart Manufacturing.

Darren said: “I’ve worked as a design engineer, manufacturing engineer, applications engineer and even a project manager, mainly in the automotive sector for businesses such as JLR and Bentley Motors. This has given me the opportunity to travel to countries such as Japan, China and Russia. I’m now part of the research and development department within the Institute for Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering.”

Darren’s recent completion of his Level 6 Improvement Leader qualification is developing his skills even further. He explained why he took on this challenge, and how he is now reaping the rewards: “As an engineer, process improvement has always been integral to my work. Having completed Unipart’s Six Sigma GreenBelt certification, I was asked if I would like to progress onto the BlackBelt course. Once I found out it would be run as a level 6 Apprenticeship in conjunction with Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) it was a no-brainer.

“Although passing the course and being one of the first two people to achieve the certificate is rewarding, supporting the remaining cohort through their journey, mentoring colleagues, and delivering Six Sigma GreenBelt training has been the most fulfilling part.”

Darren explained how the support of his colleagues and The Unipart Way have helped him on his journey: “The support I received from Black Belt Mentor Rod Gordon, ARU Mentor Vanessa Knowles and Head of Six Sigma Alison Coleman was incredible. Alison's many years of experience and knowledge from working within Unipart Manufacturing was invaluable.

“The Unipart Way, one of the reasons I joined Unipart, has significantly shaped my journey. It’s how we think, work and behave, to deliver for our customers and grow the business further. Harnessing The Unipart Way helped me significantly in achieving my Level 6 Improvement Leader, so I encourage any hard-working colleagues with a real interest in process improvement, Lean and Six Sigma to explore this excellent accreditation.”

In recognition of Unipart’s 50th anniversary we asked Darren to share a specific standout memory during his time here. He said: “As part of the annual charity week, it was great fun seeing some of our senior managers getting wet sponges thrown in their faces…a great watch that gave some of my colleagues immense pleasure!

“I enjoy working at Unipart because it really feels like we pull together as a team to resolve any challenges we face, and we always have a laugh, whatever the situation. Unipart really values training and development and pushes employees to seek continuous improvement - something I am happy to take advantage of.”

The Level 6 Improvement Leader Apprenticeship is delivered by our own Six Sigma experts in conjunction with Anglia Ruskin University. It is a Nationally-recognised apprenticeship qualification and forms part of The Unipart Way Black Belt certification.

Unipart started teaching this as an Apprenticeship in 2022 and the first of our delegates have just achieved their qualifications. Improvement leaders are expert practitioners of The Unipart Way and use their deep understanding of the Operational Excellence system to drive business benefits through continuous improvement and innovation, and to coach others to do the same.

Entry to this programme requires that you are actively involved in process improvement and in a role where you can support others to improve. As an apprentice you and your business will need to commit 20% of your working week to building your skills in addition to attending formal training.

If you would like to develop your own skills or those of one of your team then please get in touch with sixsigma@unipart.com