MM is a market leader in the design, supply and support of power and propulsion systems in aerospace, marine, energy and nuclear industries. There are currently 100 apprentices undertaking their training across MM's many sites countrywide. The company's recruitment literature explains:

'Our apprentice scheme is seen as a route into the workforce and lays the foundation for an exciting career. We offer many different types of apprenticeships. Our apprentices gain outstanding technical, personal and employment skills through classroom training and 'on the job' experience. The facilities and talent that apprentices encounter are world-class. Apprentices gain qualifications more demanding than those attained in full-time education.'

MM's Human Resource (HR) function is heavily involved in the scheme:

Provision is made within the HR budget to fund the entire scheme and the HR Director decides annually how many new apprentices can be employed each year.

A recruitment team from the HR department tours schools with promotional literature explaining the benefits and talks to interested pupils. The team invites pupils with potential to open days that periodically run at a number of MM's sites.

At open days HR arranges tours of MM's premises and encourages potential recruits to ask questions and talk to current apprentices. If candidates are still interested, HR officers conduct interviews and draw up a short list of potential apprentices.

The HR Director makes formal offers of apprenticeships. Once appointed the new recruits identify the areas of the business in which they wish to train. Senior Site Managers are informed of these choices and arrange for workplace mentors to be allocated to the new recruits.

For the last three years there have been fewer potential apprentices attending open days despite a similar number of invitations being issued. In addition, a growing number of pupils have declined offers of apprenticeships deciding instead to continue in full-time education.

MM has a new HR Director and during her first month in post she met Senior Site Managers throughout the company. She was surprised by unfavorable comments about the operation of the apprenticeship scheme. One manager told her that 'HR would do well to learn from the lean philosophy that operates in all other areas of the company'. Another explained that although capable apprentices had been placed at his site in the past he 'had to let them go' when their training was completed because there were no suitable permanent jobs at the site. Other managers complained that they had no say over the number of apprentices placed at their site and that finding suitable workplace mentors was sometimes a problem.

Explain how the lean philosophy might help improve the operation of MM's HR department.