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FREE GUIDE – ENGINEERING APPRENTICESHIPS

Free Guide — Engineering Apprenticeships

What Engineering Apprentices Actually Want

Insights from over 3,000 Engineering Apprentice Satisfaction Surveys — and how to build a scheme that retains them.

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3,000+ engineering apprentice satisfaction surveys analysed
47% of all apprentices drop out before completing their programme
£80k–£300k sunk cost of a failed apprenticeship to the employer
60% average attrition rate across UK engineering apprenticeship schemes
Inside the guide

What the data from 3,000+ apprentice surveys actually tells us

Most employers running apprenticeship schemes are genuinely committed. But there is a consistent, measurable gap between what employers believe they are providing and what apprentices are actually experiencing. This guide shows you where those gaps are — and how to close them.

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The four things apprentices consistently say make the difference between a great scheme and a poor one
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The gap between what employers think they are doing and what apprentices are actually experiencing
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The five most common improvement areas across hundreds of engineering apprenticeship schemes
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What apprentices in high-performing schemes say about their experience — and how it differs from the average
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The habits that distinguish employers with 90%+ retention from those struggling with dropout
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A practical self-assessment to benchmark your current scheme against industry best practice
The data

The gap between intention and experience

These are the numbers that tell the real story. The left figure is what employers say. The right figure is what the data reveals. The green row shows what apprentices in high-performing schemes experience when employers get it right.

92% of employers say they are passionate about training and developing their apprentices
57% have a process for recognising and celebrating apprentice success
Passion without recognition leaves apprentices feeling invisible.

In high-performing schemes: 96% of apprentices say they are developing meaningful skills, knowledge and behaviours.

63% have a structured plan of work spanning the full duration of the apprenticeship
49% have a process to log on-the-job work completed by their apprentices
A plan that is not tracked cannot be measured, improved or evidenced.

In high-performing schemes: 81% of apprentices say their mentor meets regularly with them to track learning and development progress.

93% say commitment to their scheme comes from senior management
65% believe all departments recognise the value of apprentices
Leadership commitment that does not reach the shop floor does not reach the apprentice.

In high-performing schemes: 81% of apprentices say they feel genuinely valued as an apprentice by their employer.

The problem

The gap that is costing employers talent

Patterns like this appear consistently across hundreds of schemes. The guide identifies five gaps like this one — and shows you exactly how to close each of them.

92% of employers say they are passionate about training and developing their apprentices
57% have a process for recognising and celebrating the success of those apprentices

Passion without recognition leaves apprentices feeling invisible. There are four more gaps like this in your scheme. The guide shows you all of them — and how to close each one.

From employers on the programme

What happens when you close the gaps

Our apprenticeship scheme has improved as a direct result of being involved in this programme. We are now much better at attracting and retaining early careers talent. The Accreditation shows that we are a serious employer with great opportunities for local young people.

Mark Capell General Manager, LISI Aerospace

We have definitely improved our apprenticeship scheme by being involved in this programme. Before, we thought we were doing the right thing, but best practice sharing has given us some really strong guidelines to work towards and helped to engage the whole business.

Sarah King Strategic HR Project Lead, SMC Corporation UK

If you want to have a successful future talent pipeline, I recommend you join this programme. Benchmarking our scheme helped us to measure where we were at. The apprentice survey feedback is fantastic, helping us to focus on what we are doing well and where we can further improve.

Iqbal Bahia Managing Director, Kirkstall Precision Engineering

Download the free guide

Find out what your apprentices actually want — and what the best employers are doing differently.

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