Update: Jaatinen B.V. is the only organisation providing training in Finnish that has received international recognition for its Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Training and Certification: the Council for Six Sigma Certification, CSSC, has approved the accreditation of the training.
I recently wrote Blog about Black Belt Certificates because the Certifications seemed to be puzzling my clients. In this blog, here's an equivalent summary to clarify Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certifications:
The Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Certification is a prestigious recognition of Lean Six Sigma expertise. The Certificate can be obtained through several organisations. However, understanding the differences between the Certifications is often challenging, searching for information is laborious and interpreting the results is difficult.
In my blog, I list the most common Green Belt Certificates, their requirements and differences. My blog also gives some ideas on how to use the information to find the right GB training and certification for you.
If you are new to the Green Belt role and the different Belt levels, you can check out my blog: Lean Six Sigma Belt levels
How to get Green Belt Certification?
The most common and convenient way to obtain a Green Belt certificate is to become certified through the Green Belt training of your choice by completing the tasks required by the training provider. After the training, you can also obtain certification from various international organisations.
Depending on the organisation, certification requirements vary:
- Theory test: a few hours of written, supervised multiple-choice test (open or closed book)
- Completing a Lean Six Sigma Project
- Combination of points 1 and 2
Various Green Belt Certificates
The Green Belt Certification is not protected; theoretically, any organization can act as a certification body. Therefore, determining the value of the certification can be difficult. The true value of the certification should be assessed based on the reputation, reliability, and the certifications and recognitions received by the issuer of the certificate.
Below is a list of the best-known Green Belt certification providers:
- American Society of Quality, ASQ
- ASQ is perhaps the best known name in Finland for Lean Six Sigma Certifications. Certification requirements include a written, English-language multiple-choice exam and 3 years of experience in Lean Six Sigma. Read more about the requirements: the ASQ Green Belt
- It is worth noting that ASQ does not accredit training providers but certifies individuals. Therefore, training organisations cannot issue ASQ certificates. The ASQ website provides a list of organisations that offer ASQ training by ASQ validated instructors. At the time of writing this blog, there are no ASQ-registered trainers in Europe.
- The International Association for Six Sigma Certification, IASSC
- IASSC is another well-known international certification organisation. IACSS certification involves a written multiple-choice exam. The certificate is valid for 3 years, after which it is renewable. Read more about the requirements: the IASSC Green Belt
- The IASSC also accredits training organisations. Accreditation is granted if the training material is validated by the IASSC and at least one of the organisation's trainers is certified by the IASSC. There are no Finnish Green Belt training providers on the list of IASSC accredited trainers, but there are some European ones (see the previous link under "Accredited Provider").
- The Council for Six Sigma Certification, CSSC
- CSSC is the third major provider of Green Belt Certificates. Certification is based on passing a written multiple-choice test. The certificate does not expire. Read more about the requirements: the CSSC Green Belt
- The CSSC also accredits training providers by validating the training material and the level of experience of the trainer. Jaatinen B.V. is the only organisation providing Green Belt training in Finnish that is accredited by the CSSC, see the list of all accredited organisations at the link: Organisations accredited by the CSSC
- Trainers and companies: in addition to the three organisations mentioned above, many training providers and companies that have implemented Lean Six Sigma extensively in their organisation have their own certification. Depending on the certification, either a theory exam and/or one or more projects are required. Management approval is often a requirement, and some organisations' own certifications also require a demonstration of mastery of capabilities that are important to the business. Requirements and levels vary widely.
Which Green Belt certificate should you get?
As the certification field is relatively diverse, here are some ideas on how to choose a certificate based on my own experience:
- The ASQ and IASSC Certifications test a wide range of statistical skills. It is necessary in certain work environments, but in many organisations the skills are not required. IASSC and ASQ do not require a project. The lack of a project requirement is a shortcoming in my opinion, because a successful project demonstrates well Belt's ability to adequately use the methodology and make lasting changes. Renewing IASSC certification every 3 years is also a reasonably large investment.
- The content of the CSSC certification theory exam is, in my opinion, relatively well focused on testing the methods that are needed in practice. Another advantage of the certificate is that it does not expire. I would see a drawback here as well in that the GB certification does not require an improvement project.
- Certifications from different training organisations: Preparation for the English certification exams offered by the aforementioned organizations takes a lot of time. It's worth considering how necessary obtaining such a certificate is. If the Green Belt training includes the opportunity to certify by completing a project, that is usually sufficient evidence of competence.
Tips for choosing GB training
If you're looking for a suitable Green Belt training, certificates don't necessarily reflect which training would be the most suitable. You can obtain an ASQ, IASSC, or CSSC certificate regardless of your training choice. Currently, Finnish GB training providers do not offer these certificates, except for Jaatinen BV's CSSC-accredited Green Belt trainings. Here are a few tips on how to evaluate training based on certificates:
- ASQ Body of Knowledge, BoK: In the content descriptions of GB training, reference is often made to the ASQ BoK content, as it is a widely known, public list. Other alternatives are the IASSC and CSSC BoK. The contents share many of the same topics, but also differ. These lists provide a preliminary overview of the training, but they do not yet provide much information about the quality of the training or the trainer.
- In addition to the content of the training, I recommend familiarizing yourself with the learning environment, the trainer's experience, and references: How different learning styles are accommodated, what teaching methods are used, how experienced the trainer is, reviews from previous training participants, etc.
Our choice for certification
The certification requirement for Green Belts with us is the completion of a project. We have discontinued theory exams because we noticed during training sessions that participants were too stressed about mastering the test questions. Their focus was more on passing the exam rather than process improvement.
After completing our Green Belt training accredited by CSSC, participants can obtain a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification from us upon successfully completing the project.
If you are interested in obtaining a Green Belt certificate and are looking for a suitable training course, find out more about our training, teaching methods and the trainer. We regularly organise open training courses as well as tailor-made training for companies.
Read more: Lean Six Sigma Green Belt training and certification
Please contact us if you have any questions or comments about the certifications.
Lean Six Sigma,
Certified Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt
