For Millie Neal, an apprenticeship was the best route into marketing, allowing her to gain hands-on experience, industry knowledge and a professional qualification while working at 2Simple. Having recently completed her Level 4 Marketing Executive Apprenticeship with Oxford Professional Education, Millie shares how the programme has helped shape her career and why she would recommend this path to others.
What was your background before starting your apprenticeship?
I started working at 2Simple a few months after completing my A Levels. I studied Media Studies, History and Drama. I then started my apprenticeship after working at 2Simple for 8 months. This meant I had experience in marketing before I started.
Why did you decide to sign up to the apprenticeship?
I always knew I didn’t want to go to university and wanted to throw myself into full time work. An apprenticeship made sense for me as I wanted to further my knowledge of marketing and learn while working. I also wanted to earn a professional qualification in marketing.
How are you finding the apprenticeship?
I really enjoyed my apprenticeship. Everyone in the team were so supportive and helpful, this made the process a lot easier and less stressful. I loved being able to apply the knowledge I had learnt in the workshops to my day to day tasks. It was great to see all my hard work pay off when I got my distinction.
How does the apprenticeship support your daily work?
The apprenticeship has helped me understand each aspect of my daily work in much more details than before. I can apply theory to each task I complete, especially when planning for campaigns. I have found the planning frameworks the most useful and will continue to use everything I have learnt in the future.
Tell us about the company and what your job role involves?
2Simple is an independent UK-based educational technology company founded in 1999 with a singular mission: to transform teaching and learning through innovative, accessible, and impactful software. Today, our resources are used by more than 2 million learners in over 11,000 schools across 74 countries. I am currently a marketing apprentice for 2Simple and work with social media, website, events, email comms and merchandise. I also run campaigns along side my team.
How does Oxford Professional Education support you in your apprenticeship?
My trainer Naomi, was really helpful throughout the apprenticeship. She made sure to offer 1-1 chats whenever I needed them and we met up regularly to go through what I had learnt in the workshops. I found her workshops so helpful and referred back to them when completing my project. Naomi helped with any revision for the final end point assessment, especially with the professional discussion. Tamzie also helped massively with the project and presentation. She reassured me and gave me the confidence to believe in myself and not be stressed.
Would you recommend this apprenticeship to others?
I would 100% recommended this apprenticeship to others, it is a great alternative for adults who didn’t go to university. It is a great way to learn while working at the same time! It is perfect for anyone who wants a qualification in marketing.
What advice would you give to someone thinking of starting an apprenticeship?
Make sure you have a supportive team, who are willing to understand your workload and help you when needed. It is sometimes hard to juggle all the workload so make sure you reach out to the team as they are very helpful in supporting you throughout the apprenticeship.
Oxford Professional Education offer a range of marketing, project management, and procurement apprenticeships. If you are interested in completing an apprenticeship or would like to hire an apprentice for your company, get in touch with our team to find out more.