How did you secure your apprenticeship?
When I first saw the vacancy I felt slightly underqualified on paper, but I was confident that my previous experience in a graphic design and printing role made up for it. A few weeks later, I was invited to an online interview.
I highlighted my practical experience and used my age - 21 at the time - to bring extra perspective to the conversation. About two weeks later, the hiring manager called to offer me the role.
I then focused on practical next steps, arranging start dates, equipment, and contract details, ready to begin my apprenticeship with confidence.
What did a typical day on your apprenticeship look like?
I completed the BSc Digital Marketing at Manchester Metropolitan University. Most of the teaching was on campus, so I got the full university experience, but during my off-the-job (OTJ) learning, I focused on juggling my degree work alongside my apprenticeship. This involved:
- drafting ideas for projects
- researching assignments
- putting together references.
At work, my time was spent:
- attending careers fairs
- creating website pop-up widgets
- curating targeted email audiences
- designing emails for our newsletters
- filming content for our social media channels.
My employer was really supportive of my OTJ time, giving me the flexibility to try out different approaches and strategies. It was great to be able to link what I was learning at university directly to the work I was doing day-to-day.
What did you enjoy most about your apprenticeship?
I really enjoyed getting stuck into active projects and working with different teams, like content and sales. Each year, I help out with our Early Careers Survey, spreading the word through email, the website, and social media, so we can create a report that genuinely reflects our audience.
Doing this gave me a chance to try out areas like user experience (UX) design, primary research, and understanding how earned and owned media really works, which made my degree feel more connected to real-world experience.
What were the challenges?
I often found myself spotting potential technical issues before they happened, troubleshooting, and coming up with new ideas on the fly.
This was especially true during technical launches, like using website software to set up pop-ups or make changes under tight deadlines. I ended up doing a lot of on-the-spot research from:
- my degree resources
- online guides.
- website developers.
It could get stressful at times, but I learned that leaning on my network - whether through Teams chats, informal office conversations, or bigger online meetings with experts - was a great way to get past obstacles.
Juggling my studies alongside work was tricky at first, but after the first year I found ways to manage my time better. To make everything more doable, I:
- carved out personal study time
- planned my OTJ learning six months ahead
- used 'Do Not Disturb' on Teams for focus.
How relevant was your previous education or training to your apprenticeship?
I picked my subjects with a marketing career in mind. From researching the skills the field values, I learned that digital know-how, creative thinking, and problem solving are key, and that graphic design is especially useful for building a solid foundation in digital marketing.
Talking things through with my college teachers confirmed I was on the right track, which definitely gave me a head start when I started my apprenticeship and helped me pick up concepts faster than some of my peers.
That said, I don't think formal education is the only way in. Practical experience, transferable skills, and soft skills - like communication, teamwork, and problem solving - are just as important.
Being a junior team member often means relying on colleagues with more experience, so knowing how to collaborate and ask for help really makes a difference.
How did your role develop during your apprenticeship?
I started out focusing on search engine optimisation (SEO) and tracking performance. Over time, I moved more into email marketing, which gave me the chance to pick up new skills and explore other areas of digital marketing like:
- call to action placement
- colour theory
- copywriting
- mapping user journeys
- UX.
These shifts ended up matching really well with what I was learning on my degree. By the end of my apprenticeship, I was taking the lead on projects like:
- managing the email database
- promoting webinars
- survey marketing.
I also became the go-to person for external stakeholders and worked with lots of different teams across the business.
It really helped me build confidence, leadership, project management, and strategic communication skills, and prepared me to take on more responsibility in my current role.
What advice can you give to others wanting to train through a marketing apprenticeship?
- Be persistent. Marketing is really competitive, so keep applying regularly - almost every day - and stay open to roles that might not seem perfect at first.
- Free online resources are really useful. Things like Google Career Certificates, LinkedIn Learning, and YouTube tutorials helped me build core skills, boost my employability, and get a head start on the basics of digital marketing.
- Let your interests guide you rather than chasing a salary or big company name. Smaller organisations can offer amazing apprenticeship opportunities, giving you a range of experience that's often just as valuable than bigger firms.
Find out more
- Discover marketing apprenticeships.
- Explore what the marketing, advertising and PR sector has to offer.