How Project Digital Supports its apprentices
I went to a school where going to university was the only option we were ever told about. There was little to no mention of apprenticeships and everyone around me was trying their best to get into Redbrick universities or better, that was a lot of pressure. Added to that, I was never particularly academically inclined.
I was always more interested in the creative world and the world of business. I did actually end up going to university and studied International Business. Although I enjoyed my time there, the biggest learning for me actually came from starting my own business during my second year of study. I learned by doing, by being practical, by solving problems and by working with others in a similar situation, not by being spoonfed.
A bit further down the line, my business had grown, we’d raised several rounds of investment and ended up taking on its own apprentice. I was fascinated by the whole concept!
They get to work in a business, learn from the experienced people around them, develop key interpersonal skills, get paid and get a certification to put on their CV at the end of it as well. Why on earth hadn’t I been shown this possibility when I was younger!?
How I ended up getting involved in apprenticeships and how we support our learners at Project Digital.
Jumping a few years slightly and into the present; Still excited about the prospect of apprenticeships I joined Project Digital. I was impressed with their plans to revolutionize the way that apprenticeships worked within the digital marketing industry. Apprenticeships in the UK typically means that apprentices spend 80% of the time in their workplace and 20% off the job learning (such as in a classroom environment, for example).
In the past, the off the job learning available in the North of England has been delivered by teachers and ‘academics’ as opposed to industry experts. This has meant that whilst the lessons have been factual they’ve more than likely been limited in terms of their applicability.
This is where Project Digital has innovated. We are powered by a team of industry experts who are active in the marketing industry, meaning they are handling and working on live projects, briefs, and clients. All of this results in accurate and up to date knowledge and not just textbook education for our learners.
Live briefs and interactive workshops
A hugely important element to the coaching we conduct here at Project Digital is the small and intimate class sizes. With no more than 15 learners at one time, we can run interactive workshops involving team activities, live briefs and vital one to one time.
Again, unlike in the traditional classroom setting where teachers will stand at the front of the room and present from a PowerPoint for the whole session, we impart our expert knowledge early on, have a detailed discussion and then encourage the learners to apply their new knowledge to a set challenge or to their specific workplaces. This results in both a better understanding and grasp of the lesson but also a direct impact to them and their businesses.
Access to an exclusive and ever-growing network
As I’m sure many would attest, the old saying of; “it’s who you know, not what you know” is pretty accurate and so whilst we focus on education and industry knowledge we are also immensely proud of and devoted to our growing network and alumni. The network is made up of both the students themselves (every cohort brings a new wave of connections) but also the wider outside network we as Project Digital have access to, via our own contracts, briefs, and clients.
The learners’ industry knowledge added together with their newly developed interpersonal skills and growing networks provides them with incredible career opportunities and into highly valued employees.
Passionate about young people, the North and the world of digital
The North of England and more specifically Lancashire is involved in a vast program to upskill and inject the area with digital marketing opportunities and knowledge. This includes huge investment, new infrastructure, building numerous coworking environments and a wave of new education facilities. Project Digital aims to lead this wave and be a driving force behind this new digitally-savvy generation. We’re keen to empower, upskill and inspire.
Handpicked employers
We choose the employers on our course very carefully.
All of our coaches are active marketers who are constantly working on live briefs and their own clients therefore, their time is precious. Because of this, we only want to take on employers who appreciate the time we give to their apprentices. This means providing them with opportunities to apply their learning, testing them with real business challenges and allocating time to them and their development.
We don’t care if our employers’ businesses are big, small, multimillion-pound companies or fledgling startups, all that matters to us is the appreciation and interest in the world of digital marketing. The apprentices will be spending hours with our experts and this is a massive opportunity for them and for employers to get every little golden nugget of information from us, so we want to make sure that isn’t squandered and wasted.
If your business is ready to take a step up in digital marketing and is interested in becoming one of our handpicked employers, don’t delay, there are only a limited number of places!
Elite participants
Not just anyone gets to join our Project Digital course, we only take the most enthusiastic self-starters. People who when faced with a problem or a question they don’t know the answer to will use their own intuition and do their own research to find a solution.
Our course is all about knowledge facilitation, not spoonfeeding and this is the key to real-world learning. We encourage and allow our students to experiment, discover and draw their own conclusions, all supported by the industry experts around them.
These apprentices are the ‘new generation’ in digital marketing and we’re keen to learn from them as much as they learn from us. Digital marketing is all about the next big thing and by tapping into the youngest generation we’re able to stay current and ahead of the trends.
If you think you have what it takes to be a Project Digital apprentice make sure to get in touch asap, places are limited and being snapped up fast.