WMH Apprenticeship Programme Celebrates a Decade of Success

In 2016, as Western Mechanical Handling (WMH) marked 40 years in business, the company recognised an important challenge. With several experienced welder fabricators approaching retirement, there was a need to preserve valuable skills and knowledge for the future. The solution was to invest in the next generation through apprenticeships.

That year, WMH recruited its first two welder fabricator apprentices, Charlie Hickman and Ian Barriball. Ten years later, both have progressed into key roles within the business, demonstrating the long-term value of developing talent from within.

For Charlie, the apprenticeship opened doors to opportunities he never expected. After gaining experience in fabrication, welding and mechanical fitting, he developed expertise across every stage of a project, from manufacturing and assembly through to installation and commissioning. His career later took him into WMH’s Tetra Pak service division, where he travelled extensively across Europe, Asia and the Americas. Today, Charlie manages WMH’s Tetra Pak service operations while also supporting wider project management activities.

Ian’s apprenticeship offered a different but equally rewarding path. Drawn by the opportunity to learn a trade while earning, he developed into one of WMH’s highly skilled fabricator welders. Working alongside experienced colleagues enabled him to build valuable technical expertise while gaining recognised qualifications. He has played a key role in major customer projects, including an automated storage and retrieval system installation in the United States. Today Ian is now passing his skills onto the next generation by mentoring the company's newest apprentice.

Their success stories highlight the many advantages apprenticeships can offer, including practical experience, recognised qualifications, financial independence and genuine career progression.

What began as a response to an ageing workforce has since become a central part of WMH’s long-term talent strategy. As the company celebrates 50 years in business, it has now recruited ten apprentices across various areas of the organisation over the past decade.

These apprentices have developed valuable skills, become important members of the team and helped create a sustainable pipeline of engineering talent. By investing in young people, WMH is ensuring that the knowledge, craftsmanship and innovation that have underpinned the business for five decades continue to be passed on to future generations.

As WMH enters its sixth decade, the success of its apprenticeship programme remains a powerful example of how investing in people can secure the future of both a business and the wider engineering sector.

https://www.wmh-uk-ltd.com/the-apprenticeship-programme-that-strengthened-wmh/