A UK-based digital automotive marketplace that has been connecting car buyers, sellers, and the motor industry for over 45 years. It provides market-leading online platforms, data insights, and advertising solutions that help consumers find their next vehicle and enable retailers and manufacturers to buy and sell with confidence.
We sat down with Tim and Hannah to discuss their experience of the apprenticeship scheme and its role within Autotrader’s early careers. Tim shares firsthand how investing in apprenticeships enables them to nurture diverse talent, empower individuals to step up to higher responsibilities, and deliver high-quality creative outputs that align with their values and business goals.
Throughout Hannah’s apprenticeship, she’s worked on a wide range of projects, enabling her to implement the learning from the apprenticeship into real projects. A key project for Hannah was on Autotrader’s podcast ‘Women in the Driving Seat’ where she had the opportunity to take a leading role from concept through to delivery. Working on the podcast allowed Hannah to apply and develop key skills gained through her apprenticeship, including creative planning, production oversight, stakeholder coordination and on-set leadership. As the project progressed, she moved from a supporting role to independently leading shoots, demonstrating growing confidence, capability and ownership.
Video production is a constantly evolving discipline, and at Autotrader, apprenticeships play a key role in ensuring they continue to develop alongside it. By bringing in apprentices like Hannah, Autotrader fuels creative innovation while building long-term capability within its teams.
Tim, who leads the video production team, shares firsthand how investing in apprentices provides access to passionate, curious talent and helps retain and develop individuals into future senior roles. The result is a win–win: apprentices gain meaningful career progression, while the business benefits from fresh ideas, evolving skills, and a strong pipeline of homegrown talent.
This is Hannah’s first apprenticeship and a career change into the video production industry. During their studies in Musical Theatre at degree level, Hannah discovered a passion for filming and editing. Wanting to build her skills with confidence and without the pressure of stepping straight into a role, she chose to do a Production Assistant Apprenticeship at Autotrader.
The apprenticeship gave Hannah hands-on experience across the full production process -allowing her to learn by doing, grow in confidence, and feel comfortable developing her skills in a real working environment. After just one year, Hannah feels confident across most aspects of her role, showing how apprenticeships can effectively support career changers while building capable, work-ready talent for the business.