Category: Leadership and Management
Level 6
Service Designer
Apprenticeship
Improve or redesign services currently offered and develop or design new service propositions to meet the needs of the user as well as the business and other stakeholders.
Key apprenticeship information
Apprenticeship Standard:
Level 6 Service Designer Apprenticeship Standard
Additional Functional Skills:
Level 2 English and maths - 19 yrs and over this is optional
Awarding Organisation:
Highfields AO
Qualification duration:
18 months and 24 weeks End Point Assessment
Who is suitable:
Experience, Human-Centred or Service Designers
Non-levy employer contribution (5%) - £750 Levy paying employer contribution - £15,000
Funding value and cost:
What a service designer actual does?
Service designers improve services an organisation already offers, or design new service propositions from scratch. The work is user-centred and deliberately whole-service: end to end, front to back, and across every channel a person might use — not a single interface or touchpoint. It runs from questioning the original brief, through research and synthesis, to prototypes, pilots and the change work needed to make something stick.
Across the apprenticeship, learners build real capability in qualitative and quantitative user research, mapping the current and future states of a service journey, co-design and workshop facilitation, prototyping from low to high fidelity, user testing and iteration, and the stakeholder influence needed to get a redesigned service adopted — alongside ethical and sustainable practice and managing work to timescales and budgets. The standard was developed by 15 employers, including the NHS, the Cabinet Office and HMRC, and applies across health, finance, retail, technology, government and charity settings.
Who is the program for?
Service Designers improve existing services or create new ones to meet the needs of users, organisations and stakeholders.
They take a user-centred, collaborative approach – using research, data and iteration to design services that work in practice.
Unlike UX, service design focuses on how the experience is created and delivered behind the scenes. It is a discipline in which the UK is a recognised global leader.
This apprenticeship is designed for individuals in service design, UX, digital or transformation roles, or those with experience in problem-solving and user experience who want to formalise their skills.
By the end of the apprenticeship, the apprentice will be able to:
Design end-to-end services
Apply user research and insight
Map journeys and identify improvements
Prototype and test solutions
Use data to evaluate services
Work across teams and contribute to change
Typical job titles include Service Designer, Experience Designer and Human-Centred Designer.
What you will learn
Designed for professionals improving services or shaping new propositions, this programme combines service design theory with practical workplace application. You will develop a user-centred, collaborative approach to redesigning services end-to-end across channels, building confidence in researching user needs, mapping and analysing services, generating and testing ideas, and influencing stakeholders. By the end of the programme, you will be equipped to create more inclusive, effective and sustainable service experiences that deliver measurable value for users, teams and organisations.
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Service design theory, principles, and history
User‑centred design and design thinking
User research methods and data collection
Service mapping and journey mapping
Ideation, prototyping, and evaluation
Agile and project management methods
Change management and organisational structures
Ethics, GDPR, accessibility, equity, and inclusion
Sustainability and emerging technologies
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Championing service design and user‑centred approaches
Analysing and interpreting design briefs
Conducting user research and synthesising insights
Mapping end‑to‑end services and identifying improvements
Facilitating workshops and co‑design sessions
Prototyping and iterative testing
Working with multidisciplinary teams
Communicating findings to stakeholders
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Ethical practice and user advocacy
Systems thinking and big‑picture awareness
Adaptability and continuous learning
Responsibility, organisation, and initiative
Off the job hours
Learners will also complete a monthly learning journal or work diary, which will be a record of how they are applying the learning in practice. The entries are linked to the knowledge, skills and behaviours that will be used to build the learners portfolio and for End Point Assessment.
Apprentices are required to complete 418 off the job hours whilst they are undertaking this apprenticeship programme.
Practically this will consist of the learner attending workshops, tutorials, coaching sessions, writing up their reflective journal, undertaking an on programme project, carrying out procedures and processes in the new ways to achieve better results, as well as the additional time they spend learning the theory and applying it in practice.
End Point Assessment
The end-point assessment (EPA) sits at the close of the apprenticeship and checks the apprentice against the knowledge, skills and behaviours in the occupational standard. Apprentices reach gateway once the employer and Phoenix confirm they are working at or above the standard, English and maths at Level 2 are achieved, and a work-based project scoping document (up to 500 words) and a portfolio of evidence — typically around 18 pieces — have been submitted.
An independent end-point assessment organisation (EPAO) delivers it using two methods. The first is a work-based project: a report of up to 4,000 words completed within 12 weeks of gateway, followed by a 60-minute presentation and questioning. The second is a 60-minute professional discussion underpinned by the portfolio. Phoenix and the employer make sure the apprentice knows exactly what to expect and how to prepare. The EPA period typically runs to around six months from gateway.