Creating a sustainable talent pipeline at Raytheon

This case study focuses on our employer partner, Raytheon UK. It demonstrates how Raytheon use Graduate Apprenticeships to address specific skills challenges and create a talent pipeline. The case study features Stephan Fortune, Training and Development Lead (Manufacturing).

How did the business first learn about Graduate Apprenticeships?

Raytheon UK have been working with Heriot-Watt University and Graduate Apprenticeships since 2018. I started my training and development role in 2019 and the Graduate Apprenticeships were already underway and part of the department’s workforce planning strategy.

How long have they been part of the talent development strategy, and how has this evolved over time?

We started using them in 2018 and we have recruited new Graduate Apprentices for the manufacturing department every year since (except for 2021, during our COVID recovery). The Graduate Apprentice programme continues to be a crucial part of our workforce planning / talent development strategy.

What are the key drivers for the business choosing Graduate Apprenticeships?

The key drivers are our ageing demographic, succession planning, skills gaps and difficulty in recruiting and creating a talent pipeline.

The benefits of the programme are that it helps us to attract the best candidates and train them up in the specific areas we need them, to either bolster resource or to allow knowledge transfer.

We have also been able to use the Graduate Apprenticeship route as mechanism to support upskilling and career progression. To date we have had three employees who have started as production associates and used the Graduate Apprenticeship route to give them the skills, knowledge and training to become important members of the engineering team.

How many Graduate Apprentices are employed in the business and on which programmes?

We currently we have 11 Graduate Apprentices. Ten in the Engineering Design and Manufacture programme and one on the Business Management Programme. We're looking to recruit an additional three for EDM in the summer of 2026.

Do you use Graduate Apprenticeships for recruiting new talent and/or upskilling existing employees?

Both! We advertise our Graduate Apprenticeship internally and externally and have had a combination or new recruits and existing employees using the Graduate Apprenticeships for career progression.

What general benefits have you seen the apprentices bring to the business?

Fresh energy and enthusiasm. The apprentices we’ve hired have integrated well into the team and are hardworking, keen to learn and intelligent.

The electronics and mechanical knowledge they learn at university can be directly applied to the work that they are involved in, and it also means they are learning it with respect to the equipment and processes used by Raytheon UK. A lot of these are highly complex and non-standard and so being able to have them learn on these specifically enables them to be even more effective in their roles.

What key support, structures or practices does an employer need to have in place to ensure apprentices succeed?

There are a number of factors:

• A University point of contact within the company to act as a liaison between the apprentices and the University.
• Workplace mentors who have the technical experience but also understand the apprentice’s role and their needs and can give them the time and support required.
• Lastly, the employer needs to be able to provide the tasks, materials and opportunities to allow the apprentices to apply their theory in practice and satisfy their work-based learning criteria.

Can you provide some specific examples of how the apprentices have been able to apply learning in the workplace?

The apprentices using their design and manufacture modules to directly solve problems within the workplace. Common examples are CAS designed then 3D printed jigs and tooling to improve safety, repeatability or efficiency in manufacturing.

There have also been some electronic circuits including use of Arduino programs to add things like traffic light timers on machine inputs, create STEM games for us to take to our careers events and we’ve had some protection circuitry added to one of our functional testers. All real designs which the apprentices have created, prototyped and trialled leading to them manufacturing legitimate upgrades to our tools or equipment.

Have any apprentices seen career progression during or after their apprenticeship?

Yes, we have multiple examples of apprentices completing their apprenticeship then successfully applying for a place on our graduate development programme. We currently have two Graduate Apprentices who are the co-leads for STEM on our site. There are also a many examples of apprentices coming out of the apprenticeship as junior engineers and following our internal career progressions pathways to become senior engineers responsible for products / programmes or equipment.

Have you used Graduate Apprenticeships as a development pathway for Modern Apprentices?

Our first cohort of Graduate Apprentices were migrated from a modern apprenticeship. However, since then the Graduate Apprenticeship route has been our preference to support our talent pipeline and workforce strategy. We do support engineering courses at NC, HNC and HND level for our employees through day release and distance learning schemes but no modern apprentices currently.

What are Heriot-Watt's strengths as a talent development partner?

There are a number of reasons. The type of courses they offer, the knowledgeable and talented lecturers / academics that support these courses and a dedicated Graduate Apprenticeship team to work with the employer and share information.

What advice would you give to other employers thinking about taking on Graduate Apprentices?

Attend one of the information sessions that Heriot-Watt organise or get in touch with the GA team to find out more. The Graduate Apprenticeships are such a good option, if your company is looking to upskill or bring in new talent, then it is the perfect programme to do this.