Congratulations to Georgia Stephen, who has completed her apprenticeship at DataLase and has been awarded a BC Level 3 Diploma in Digital Marketing.
We caught up with her post the good news, to find out more about her qualification and what it involved.
Q. Well done Georgia! Can you tell us more about the course and what it covered?
A. The course was called a Level 3 Digital Marketer Apprenticeship and covered all different parts of marketing, including SEO, Social Media, E-mail Marketing, Content Marketing, PPC (pay-per-click), Customer Service, and more. It consisted of around 10 case studies, which were pieces of coursework in whatever form I wanted (I chose Powerpoint presentations). There were 2 exams (marketing principles & principles of coding), and an EPA interview with the exam board about my coursework, which lasted about 2 hours. Finally, there was a synoptic project using a mock scenario, which took 40 hours to complete; my idea was to revamp a renovation company’s social media strategy within a certain budget.
Q. How did the apprenticeship work in terms of your time spent in college and work?
A. At first I had a tutor coming in to do face-to-face sessions, which would typically last for 2 hours every 3-4 weeks. During and after the pandemic, the tutor sessions were online. I was required to spend a minimum of 20% of my working hours completing off-the-job training, such as coursework, tutoring sessions, revision for exams, etc.
Q. How long did it take?
A. The original apprenticeship was meant to be completed within 12 months, however, due to the pandemic, it took a year and a half longer. This was due to multiple changes in tutors, exam dates being backed up and not having sufficient evidence in certain areas due to the implications of furlough throughout the business. It effectively meant that I wasn’t able to be trained in certain key areas, such as Google Analytics and email marketing.
Q. What were the highlights and would you recommend an apprenticeship?
A. I loved the fact I was learning whilst on the job, as I’m more of a practical learner naturally; it made the theory side easier as I’d be writing coursework about something I’d physically just completed. The highlight was doing the synoptic project – it was fun being able to take full control, putting all my ideas forward and trying to stay within a budget. It means a lot that it is finally successfully finished and although I enjoyed learning, the last year has just been mostly waiting for exam dates, which has been fairly stressful. I would definitely recommend an apprenticeship – you are getting on-the-job experience and learning the ins & out’s of the industry as well. It’s a win-win.
Q. Any plans for further qualifications?
A. No plans for further qualifications at the minute. A degree apprenticeship could be something worth looking into in the future, but for now, I’m just relieved to have completed my level.
Thanks Georgia and well done again!