From apprentice to employee
With our growing workload over the past few years came the need to expand our team. However, instead of recruiting for a new Digital Marketer in a more traditional way, we decided to seek out the best young talent in the region and offer the opportunity for a fully comprehensive apprenticeship.
Having previously struggled to find the right people to join our team with traditional recruitment campaigns, an apprenticeship seemed a sensible route to choose. It not only offered an opportunity for us to grow and help local talent, it also ensured we’d be working with an individual that was truly passionate about their job. With this in mind, we set out find a new Digital Marketing Apprentice back in early 2015.
A vibrant opportunity
Our apprenticeship role required a hungry, creative, motivated, can-do individual. They needed to have a passion for social media and Internet marketing and a willingness to work hard as part of our busy creative team. Luckily we received an application from Ben Earnshaw – who we were delighted to welcome to our team last year.
As an apprentice, Ben was tasked with a number of important jobs, all designed to help grow his skills and become a highly desirable digital marketer. These included revamping and keeping things fresh on social media and developing blog content and strategy for our growing portfolio of clients. Throughout his apprenticeship, Ben was able to get involved in some exciting areas in marketing.
By the end of the apprenticeship, Ben was bringing a lot of value to the agency. He put forward his own ideas and solutions to campaigns for a number of our clients, created engaging blog content week-in-week-out, and showed impressive research skills to aid with projects. What’s more, he successfully completed the year-long apprenticeship and achieved his Level 3 Digital Marketing Diploma.
With his well-developed skillset, we didn’t want Ben’s apprenticeship to come to an end…
From apprentice to employee
Of course, the obvious solution was to offer Ben a full-time, permanent job as our newest member of the marketing team. He now joins us here at 21 Digital after completing his Level 3 Digital Marketing qualification from City and Guilds and completing our own 12-month apprenticeship programme.
About our programme, Ben Earnshaw says:
“The apprentice programme was a real game changer for me. It has taught me the fundamentals of digital marketing while giving me the first hand experience of the day-to-day operations of a successful agency. 21 Digital were extremely supportive during my first 12 months and I look forward to my future here.”
“I am thrilled to have been offered a permanent position with 21 Digital and look forward to working on upcoming projects and developing my skills further, under their guidance.”
About Ben’s appointment, our technical director Michael Cain says:
“Ben has proved to be a valued member of the 21 Digital team, so hiring him on a full time basis at the end of his apprenticeship was a no-risk appointment.”
“Not only has Ben showed great enthusiasm and professionalism for the role, but he’s developed his knowledge of our services to a high standard.”
To find out more about our upcoming apprenticeships, keep your eye out on the website!
If you’re keen to find out how Ben, or another member of our marketing team, can help your business grow in 2016, get in touch today.
