The Evolving Digital Marketing Landscape

The digital marketing world is in a constant state of flux, with new channels, technologies, and consumer behaviors emerging regularly. This evolution demands a workforce that is not only skilled but also adaptable and forward-thinking. Multi-channel marketing apprentices bring fresh perspectives and are trained to navigate these changes effectively, keeping your business at the forefront of innovation.

Nurturing Young Talent: A Long-Term Investment

Investing in young talent through apprenticeships is more than just filling an immediate need – it’s about building the future of your company. These apprentices, equipped with the latest marketing techniques and digital know-how, grow alongside your business, adapting and contributing in ways that seasoned professionals might not. They are digital natives, innately understanding the online landscape, which is invaluable in today’s market.

The Competitive Edge of Multi-Channel Expertise

Multi-channel marketing is not just a buzzword; it’s a critical strategy for any business looking to thrive in the digital age. Apprentices trained in this discipline bring a holistic understanding of how different channels work together to create impactful campaigns. Their training in areas like SEO, content marketing, social media, and analytics equips them to contribute to a variety of marketing initiatives, offering a competitive edge to your business.

Cost-Effective Talent Development

Apprenticeships are a cost-effective way to develop talent. They allow you to mould enthusiastic learners into the exact kind of professionals your company needs. In addition, apprentices often bring a level of loyalty and commitment to the company that invested in their early career, reducing turnover and recruitment costs in the long run.  If you factor in training and development costs of a regular employee in comparison with the government funded training apprentices receive (to the very highest quality, delivered by our industry experts) it’s no wonder that so many businesses, large and small, are starting to explore apprenticeship opportunities for their existing and potentiality new employers.

Staying Ahead in a Digital-First World

In a world where digital is no longer an option but a necessity, having a team skilled in multi-channel marketing is crucial. Apprentices bring not just skills but also a digital-first mindset, ensuring that your marketing strategies resonate with today’s consumers and stay relevant in the future.

Conclusion: A Strategic Move for Future Success

Investing in multi-channel marketing apprentices is a strategic decision that benefits your company in the present and prepares it for future challenges. By nurturing this young talent, you’re not just filling a gap in your workforce; you’re building a team capable of driving your business forward in the ever-changing digital landscape. The question isn’t whether your company needs multi-channel marketing talent; it’s whether you can afford not to have it.

Want to educate yourself about new our Multi-channel Marketing apprenticeship programme, launching on 11th December?  Come along to one of our series of webinars, happening on 27th November.  You can get your free tickets here.

Cant’ make this date?  Just fill in our handy online form, below and one of our friendly team will get back to you with all the information you need!

Embark on a Journey of Digital Discovery

Prospective apprentices and innovative businesses are cordially invited to explore our diverse array of apprenticeship courses within the Digital, IT, and Creative sectors. From 1:30 pm to 4:00 pm, in scheduled time slots, EMA’s team of IT experts will showcase their new environment and state-of-the-art equipment.

Evolve with Cutting-Edge Education

The fair will spotlight EMA’s Work Simulated Environment—a groundbreaking approach designed to immerse IT apprentices in a real-world enterprise network. This hands-on experience ensures apprentices are not just prepared for the future but are actively shaping it.

A Curriculum Crafted for the Future

EMA’s evolved IT curriculum allows apprentices to work towards prestigious qualifications, including:

• Level 3 Information Communication Technician which includes Microsoft MS-900 and AZ-900 certifications.
• Level 3 Digital Support Technician which includes Microsoft MS-900 and AZ-900 certifications and ITIL v.4 foundation level.
• Level 4 Network Engineer a more advanced qualification that includes AZ-104  and Cisco Certified Network Associate certifications.

Creative and Marketing Mastery

Not only does our IT & Digital Careers Fair focus on IT careers, but it also shines a light on the creative side of digital technology. Attendees will have the chance to delve into Content Creation, Digital Marketing, and Marketing Executive courses, showcasing the fusion of tech-savviness and creativity.

From Apprentices to Advocates

Hear firsthand accounts from current apprentices who will share their experiences and the impact of EMA’s creative and digital courses on their careers. These stories will provide invaluable insights into the real-world benefits of joining our forward-thinking community.

Be Part of the Tech Evolution

EMA’s event is a call to action for those who refuse to be left behind in the technological dust—affectionately dubbed dinosaurs. It’s an invitation to step boldly into the modern world of tech, armed with the knowledge and skills offered by an evolved IT curriculum.

For further details, remember to grab your free ticket HERE and follow us on our socials for real-time updates if you can’t make this one.

Don’t let this transformative opportunity pass you by. Mark your calendar for 3rd November and be a part of the #ITEvolved movement at EMA’s Digital Training Hub.

All companies are seeking to optimise their recruitment cost and surely yours isn’t any different in that respect. A simple but effective way to help with this is to be conscious of an apprenticeship levy and know how you can use it to your advantage.

First things first, let’s get you up to speed with understanding what an apprenticeship levy is. In simple terms, an apprenticeship levy is a tax that is applied to fund apprenticeship training.

If your company’s annual pay bill is over £3 million, then 0.5% of wages over the 3 million threshold needs to be paid in taxes. This is a government scheme that was introduced in 2017 to try and incentivise companies to implement apprenticeships into their workforce. The main objectives for the apprenticeship implementation were to tackle youth unemployment levels and contribute towards the upskilling of current employees within an organisation. The benefit to the government here is a strengthened economy.

Even if you’ve not got the resources right now to afford the wages of new employees, then you could focus on consolidating and strengthening current employees within your hierarchy. By retraining and retaining them via an apprenticeship that’s based on upskilling, it would help to grow your company. Later down the line, this can help to put you in to a position where you have more resources to expand your workforce because of structural strengthening. We at EMA Training can help you to define and tailor a strategy to your company’s specific growth goals.

The 0.5% of the 3 million pay bill levy compounds and creates your own accumulated money pool which you can use to contribution towards your apprentices training costs. Companies who are above the threshold must contribute to the levy either way which therefore makes hiring an apprentice a no brainer! If you’re a large company, then you’re already contributing towards the cause, therefore why not reap the rewards?

Your financial pool rolls over and allows you two years to utilise it however if it’s not spent within this period, then the government will take it back on a monthly basis. This would be via a levy account which is basically a holding account between the government and your company.

For companies that are over this 3 million threshold, you can hire as many apprentices without incurring extra training costs granted that your levy account can accommodate this. For example, if your companies pay bill is 5 million then 0.5% of anything over 3 million (2 million surplus in this case) is available for you to use to pay for an apprentices training. 0.5% of 2 million is £10,000 therefore if the training expenses for the apprentice is £10,000, then you wouldn’t have to pay a 5% training contribution which in this instance would have equated to £500 if there wasn’t enough in the levy account.

Either way, £500 training fees for an apprentice that you can mould into your company’s own is an extraordinarily good deal. The best part about the apprenticeship levy is that the larger your annual pay is, the more apprentices basically pay for themselves. You could potentially hire or retrain many apprentices without experiencing any training related drawdown.

As for smaller companies, you’d be benefiting too because you’ll still be striking a great bargain even though you’re not obligated to pay the 0.5% levy. Whatever size your company is, you can still take advantage of the apprenticeship scheme!

Companies under the 3 million threshold incur slightly different charges depending on their specific situation. If your organisation employs less than 50 employees, then apprentices aged 16-18 will not incur you any extra charges regarding their training/ skill learning, your only financial obligation in this instance will be to pay them their apprentice wage. Still on the topic of companies with less than 50 employees, if your apprentice is aged 19 or over, then there would be a 5% training contribution, but the rest of the fees will pay funded by the government.

If you employ more than 50 people but are still under the 3 million threshold, then both 16-18 and 19+ year olds will require a 5% training contribution. Again, the government will fund the other 95% of the apprentices training fees.

After reading all the benefits above, it’s hard to not consider the idea of an apprentice in whichever format best suits your current needs. Even if there are training costs involved, they are minimal due to the contribution fees only being a maximum of 5%. Whether you’re a large-scale company or have less than 50 employees and whether you want to hire a new apprentice or retrain someone internally, you would be benefiting enormously.

For more details about apprenticeship levies or if you’re interested in hiring an apprentice/ retaining a current member of your team, feel free to enter your email address below and we’ll get back to you.

Best regards,

EMA Training

Q1. Please introduce yourself, the company you work for and the nature of your business.

My name is Harry Jones, I am the Global Head of Recruitment and Talent at Bam Boom Cloud, based in Derby. We are a global tech company that provides Microsoft solutions to small to medium-sized businesses. The goal is to remove old IT headaches and provide them with systems and support along the way.

Q2. Please list the role of the apprentice(s) you have along with the name of their apprenticeship programme(s).

Our apprentice roles are:

• 1^st line support engineer – Information Communications Technician level 3
• 1^st line Dynamics support – Digital support technician level 3
• Finance assistant – Assistant accountant level 3
• Digital marketer – Digital Marketer level 3 progressed onto Marketing Executive Level 4

Q3. Why did your business decide to employ an apprentice?

The decision to go down the apprenticeship route was all about building our next generation within Bam Boom Cloud. We wanted to upskill the team as soon as they step foot into the business and also give young people the chance to work in a thriving and growing environment, building careers for themselves.

Q4. What kind of skills do you look for in a candidate during an interview

I look for the drive and determination to want to build a career. If someone is passionate enough about their future, they will put in the time and effort when it comes to learning on the job. I also look for communication skills, the ability to talk over the phone and face-to-face is so important to the nature of this business so it’s key to possess that skill. Finally, someone who can have a laugh, we don’t interview formally here, it doesn’t fit our culture. We want to make sure that whoever we take on will be a great cultural fit for our team as well as the organisation. That’s why we always try to have a laid-back interview process to allow the apprentice to really come out of their shell.

Q5. What advice would you give to someone considering an apprenticeship within the industry you work in?

Keep learning. Within IT you can never stop learning. Digital software will always change so being able to proactively look at solutions no matter what the role is important to be successful in this industry.

Also, remember there will always be stepping stones when you first start out. Majority of the time you will start out as a junior support engineer. Don’t get disheartened as this is the way you learn the software and learn our customers. The progression will always be there for those who show determination to want to succeed. We have so many success stories from apprenticeships and can’t wait to make more.

Q6. What impact has an apprentice made on your company?

Not only have apprentices changed the dynamic of our company, but our digital marketer has also completely overhauled our social media, making it their own and being able to put Bam Boom Cloud on the map through different platforms.

Our support staff have shown what amazing customer service looks like, being nominated for awards within the apprenticeship customer support categories.

Not only that, but it makes the job of recruitment easier and more fun, working with apprentices, showing them the growth potential and watching them bloom into the next generation of senior members of staff is definitely a highlight of my role.

Q7. Why do you think apprenticeships are a good option for someone starting a new career?

For me, it’s a no-brainer. If I had the opportunity when I was younger to do it then I would definitely start out as an apprentice. You learn on the job, you are able to get into large organisations that will help you grow and succeed, all whilst being paid. No flaws to it in my eyes.

Q8. What advice would you give to another Employer considering hiring an apprentice?

Don’t expect experience. Recruit for culture fit rather than experience, as the personality of someone will definitely make it easier to mould that apprentice into a more senior position in the future. Also, before taking on apprentices, make sure there is a fully set up onboarding training plan and support system. Without this, the apprentices will be lost in the role and will struggle to really settle into the position.

If you’re interested in growing your team and hiring an apprentice, get in touch with our team:

📨 info@ematraining.co.uk
📞 01332 371666

Hear from other Employers:
Sarah, from Derby City Council, talks all things apprenticeships:

Neil, from Purpose Media, shares his experience and some great advice:

EMA Training’s Chief Executive Officer, Tracey Mosley, commented, “We are delighted to announce the launch of our new website ematraining.co.uk, in partnership with Purpose Media. As an East Midlands apprenticeship training provider, we work closely with local employers to ensure career employment opportunities are accessible. This would not be possible without the support of employers such as Purpose Media who, as one of our employer clients, provide guidance, employment, and progression opportunities to those starting their careers.”

Chloé Farmer, Head of Marketing said, “Our new, innovative website aims to inspire and guide school leavers, young professionals, parents, and employers. Purpose Media has provided us with an accessible and appealing platform to attract, inform and educate them about the benefits of apprenticeships. Even today we find that many people do not fully understand apprenticeship and our website aims to dispel the myths.

We believe in supporting apprentices to develop their careers at any given opportunity; EMA’s Marketing Assistant, Jess Tracey, has project managed the website from an EMA Training perspective as part of her Level 4 Marketing Executive apprenticeship, which has been fantastic for her career development!”

Grace Golden, Head of Client Growth from Purpose Media said “Over our 14-year company history, Purpose Media has a long track record of nurturing apprentices, in fact many are now in senior management roles. Co-incidentally, Ruby Birks, who has project managed the work for EMA training is a former apprentice who has recently won two apprentice of the year awards, so this shows how beneficial apprenticeships can be in kickstarting a career journey. We are delighted to be partnering further with EMA to create more employment opportunities for young people.”

Set up in 2013, EMA has become synonymous with high quality apprenticeship provision and outstanding customer service. Operating out of offices in both Derby and Nottingham, the firm places over 250 apprentices per year, and has supported over 200 businesses with their apprenticeship requirements since inception.

Purpose Media is an award-winning full-service agency focused on driving ROI through Digital, Web, Creative and Video. It has a track record of recruiting apprentices in order to provide young people with rewarding careers.