A Digital apprenticeship all the way to foundation degree.

The first time I speak with an employer about developing an apprenticeship in their business I talk about what the apprenticeship is. We first speak about the ethos of the apprenticeship; we speak about how an apprentice learns in your business – shadowing, developing on the job, working administration tasks, making the odd cup of tea or thousand and how they can be valuable. We then speak about our part (the award-winning delivery part), the seminars, the one2one work based training, the theory and how we tailor their projects to the business. And finally, the qualification they receive.

As with any formal training there are levels. So, you can have a Level 3 apprenticeship or a Level 4 apprenticeship – If you complete a Level 3 apprenticeship you can then “progress” onto a level 4 (Which is foundation degree level). This is called a progression. And most of the employers we work with do this and it has some amazing results because of it.

Once an apprentice completes their first year with a company the cut down apprenticeship wage must be increased to the relevant minimum wage. So why would a company then let a learner move onto the Level 4 apprenticeship?

Well it does many things:

Firstly, it increases loyalty – not only for the obvious additional 18 months of the course but also it has been proven to increase loyalty beyond the course.

It shows a fantastic work ethic – As an employer, yes you must give up a little time for the now very valuable employee, but an individual ready to work 36 hours and train is a good individual. And that means a good employee.

They get better as an employee. The training in the Level 4 Digital Marketing is more advanced and therefore their knowledge and experience grows even further. Your employee becomes a nodding and compliant employee in the first year to someone making an enormous difference in the second. As a trainer, I have seen learners take over national clients, take on business development roles and earn massive bonuses because of their efforts.

It also grows the business. Many of our business work with apprentices and after the first year, their current apprentice moves into level 4 and then they hire another apprentice that fits into that role.  It’s great to see a business literally growing from the ground up.

Progression is not just a level for a young member of your team; its progression in your business too.

If you’re interested in apprenticeships and the tailored training programme Creative alliance delivers then please get in touch here