Most engineering employers we work with would settle for an 80-90% retention rate on their apprenticeship scheme.
The HEX Group – a multi-divisional engineering and manufacturing business in Staffordshire – runs at 100%.
Every apprentice who completes the programme is offered a full-time role on completion. They have been doing so since the scheme launched in 2010 and apprentices now make up around 10% of the workforce. In 2026, applications were up 79% on the previous year.
At our May member visit, the HEX Group leadership team – Karen Barnacle (People & Culture Director), Will Davies-Hill (Apprentice Manager) and Grace Williams (Apprentice Support Lead) – walked us through how the programme was built, what gets quietly under-discussed, and what they’d tell other engineering employers thinking about doing the same thing.
Several things stood out.
1. It was always a business decision, not a CSR exercise
The HEX Group’s apprenticeship programme started in 2009 with a clear brief from the CEO: address the skills gap, support an ageing workforce, and future-proof the company’s long-term interests.
It was a considered business decision. Not a generosity-led recruitment initiative.
That framing matters more than employers tend to admit. Apprenticeship programmes positioned as “the right thing to do” rarely receive the level of structural investment they need to deliver. Programmes positioned as business decisions get budget, board-level visibility, and management accountability.
The HEX Group’s scheme now has board-level representation. Karen sits on the board. Investment, training-provider decisions and progression structures can move faster as a result.
For employers thinking about the political and structural positioning of their apprentice scheme — that’s the model that delivers.
2. The 50/50 split: business needs and apprentice support sit alongside each other
Early focus was business-led: filling skills gaps, hitting numbers, managing training provider relationships.
But now, Will is clear about what changed: “It became a 50/50 split in my job, really. It’s the apprentices we need to support as well.”
In practical terms, this means a dedicated apprentice support lead, weekly classroom time built into every apprentice’s schedule, monthly mentor meetings with someone outside the apprentice’s line management, and quarterly enrichment days.
The combined effect: apprentices have multiple structured points of contact, multiple ways to flag a problem, and multiple touchpoints with people whose job is to support their development specifically.
For most engineering employers, support of this kind is informal and personality-led. At The HEX Group, it’s a designed system.
3. Training provider management is a discipline, not a contract
Will spoke at length about the work that goes into managing training provider relationships – which is, in his words, “not an easy journey.”
Most providers, he noted, operate on a “minimum requirement” model: tripartite meetings every eight weeks, with apprentices left largely on their own in between.
The HEX Group’s approach is more demanding. They’ve changed providers multiple times. They actively look for providers who’ll commit beyond the minimum, share detailed RAG-chart performance data, and accept ad-hoc classroom observation from employer representatives.
They now work with JCB Academy (10 years), Walsall College (5 years for graphics), Newcastle and Stafford College Group, the University of Derby (10 years for degree apprentices), and the new IoT in Staffordshire.
The point isn’t the provider list. The point is the discipline. Most employers leave training provider relationships on autopilot. The HEX Group treats them as a managed strategic relationship.
4. Enrichment is a structured four-stage model, not an afterthought
The most differentiated part of the programme is the enrichment framework, which divides the apprentice journey into four deliberate stages:
- Pre-apprenticeship: three “Keep in Touch” days before the September start, including a meet-and-greet, a practical activity in a relaxed setting (bowling, Go Ape) and a barbecue with summer games
- Year one: a fully funded four-day residential trip in October to build relationships across the cohort, plus a mid-year team-building day
- Continual enrichment: quarterly themed enrichment days (community, sports, festive, mental health), STEM projects, charity fundraising, and additional training
- Post-apprenticeship: an annual awards evening and formal graduation, with the option to retain mentors after completion
Grace’s framing: “Out of everything we do, this is the best thing. Extremely low cost, but really high impact.”
The impact data backs this up. Next Gen Makers Apprentice survey results are up 11.9% over the past year.
5. The recruitment pivot: TikTok over Facebook
Until 2025, marketing for the apprenticeship programme focused on Facebook and LinkedIn. Facebook reached parents. LinkedIn reached partners. Neither reached the actual target audience.
In summer 2025, Sophie Nobes (Group Marketing Executive) and Grace launched the TikTok channel. The account is apprentice-led: apprentices shoot the content, star in the videos, and edit.
The results: 750+ followers, 21,000+ likes, 300+ attendees at the most recent open evening, and a 79% rise in applications.
The pattern Grace and Sophie noticed during recent interviews: candidates volunteering, unprompted, that they applied because they saw The HEX Group’s TikTok.
6. The commercial decision other employers don’t make
The final piece is structural. The HEX Group does not count apprentice output toward production capacity in years one or two of the apprenticeship. Third-year apprentices count at 75%.
This is a meaningful commercial decision. It removes the conflict between production targets and apprentice support – and explicitly funds the time mentors need to teach properly.
Will’s framing for shop-floor colleagues who initially pushed back:
“Somebody taught you. Somebody spent the time and effort in teaching you and giving you the skills we now recognise would be good for our apprentices to have. You pay it forward a bit.”
What this means for engineering employers
The HEX Group’s programme works because it’s designed – at the level of strategy, structure and budget – rather than improvised.
For engineering employers looking to strengthen their own apprenticeship offer, three questions worth asking:
- Is your scheme positioned as a strategic business decision, with board-level visibility?
- Have you separated apprentice support from line management, or is it bundled into day-to-day operations?
- Have you redesigned how apprentices spend their first two years to remove the production-vs-development tension?
If those questions surface gaps, the simplest place to start is benchmarking your scheme honestly against industry best practice.