06 Feb 2022
by Brooke Richardson

Working as a marketing apprentice in the EdTech industry mid-pandemic

Brooke Richardson, Marketing Assistant Apprentice at Practice Labs, an award-winning virtual lab provider, shares her apprenticeship journey in the hope to encourage and inspire other young adults considering on-the-job training.

My journey in marketing all started with an apprenticeship. I had an initial interest in marketing, so I turned to the internet to find out more and stumbled across some educational videos on YouTube. I thought, yes, I could do this, and my interest developed further and grew from there. It was then I decided to look for an apprenticeship vacancy. 

In my search for a marketing apprenticeship, I came across Practice Labs during National Apprenticeship Week 2021 as they were advertising for a Marketing Apprentice. I loved the Practice Labs CREW values and the opportunities looked bright, so I knew it was the right place for me to start my journey. I applied in February, and by May I was booked in for my first day on the job and had workshops scheduled in with the training provider, Professional Academy.  

Almost a year into it, my apprenticeship has allowed me to work alongside experienced individuals in the marketing industry and gain hands-on experience whilst getting paid. I spend 20% of my week working on my studies, and the rest working on the job.  

This journey all began during the pandemic, but my learning and experience was never hindered by this. My apprenticeship with my provider Professional Academy allowed me to join workshops online and speak to my mentor through Teams. Practice Labs also gave me the opportunity for interviews through Teams which reduces a lot of pressure and stress for someone at my age.   

There’s never been a dull moment, and I love how I get to work on such a variety of marketing projects, often with responsibility where I can come up with my own ideas and make them come to life.

Here a just a few things I’ve worked on so far; 

  • Paid social 
  • Newsletters 
  • Events 
  • Social media scheduling 
  • TikTok 
  • Video content 
  • Recording studio set up 
  • Marketing automation software 
  • Content planning 
  • Creating assets 
  • Creative briefs 
  • Email marketing 
  • Crew and Culture champions 

Apprenticeships are a great way to start off your career as they are not over a long period of time which means there is a lot of opportunity to grow quickly. Working also gives you the chance to network with other individuals and businesses through sites such as LinkedIn. This is a great way to get ideas on how you can develop your own company’s’ marketing game or even a great way to see what your future could look like if you put your mind to it.  

I believe that an apprenticeship was the best way to start off my marketing career. I’m so glad I went for it and it’s not long until I gain a nationally recognised qualification. I can’t wait to see what the future holds. Thank you Practice Labs and Professional Academy for this opportunity. 


If you’d like to know more about apprenticeships, you can visit the UK Government website  What is an apprenticeship? (apprenticeships.gov.uk).  

Practice Labs, an ACI Learning company, not only supports the recruitment of apprentices, but we provide Practice Labs for apprentices working towards a career as a Network Engineer, Cyber Technician, and Infrastructure Technician.

Authors

Brooke Richardson

Brooke Richardson

Marketing Assistant Apprentice, Practice Labs

Brooke loves all things social. Working as a marketing apprentice, Brooke works on curating content for the Practice Labs brand and spends her time writing copy, posting on social platforms, researching, supporting campaign management, and creating video content. As an apprentice, Brooke gets to learn on the job 80% of the working week, and 20% is dedicated to studying with her apprenticeship provider.