Practical lad follows script (5-2)
I believe the answer is:
hands-on
'practical' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'lad follows script' is the subsidiary indication.
'lad' becomes 'son'.
'follows' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'script' becomes 'hand' ('hand' can be a synonym of 'script').
'son' after 'hand' is 'handson'.
(Other definitions for hands-on that I've seen before include "Practical (training)" , "Giving personal attention (to)" , "Practical, working something directly - or manually" , "Involving practical participation rather than theory" , "Involving direct practical participation" .)