What is a sales, marketing, and procurement apprenticeship?
An apprenticeship is a work-based route into your chosen career. You will gain the qualifications and skills to work in the field while earning a salary and not paying tuition fees.
You could be doing digital marketing for a big brand, selling advertising space, or buying important equipment for companies.
Career opportunities from a sales, marketing, and procurement apprenticeship
An apprenticeship in the industry can lead to a range of careers, including a:
A day in the life of a Sales Apprentice
Sheona is a sales apprentice at Coca-Cola European Partners.
£16,757
The average salary for a marketing apprentice
According to Reed, correct as of December 2022
Over 250,000
The number of people working in sales and marketing in the UK
Statista, correct as of December 2022
Over a billion
The number of users platforms like TikTok have, so there’s lots of opportunity for growth
TikTok, correct as of December 2022
The flexibility of working and gaining a qualification really appealed to me, but I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I spent a bit of time looking through the descriptions of the apprenticeships available to see which suited my personality and skills best. It was important I knew I’d enjoy it.
One thing I’m passionate about is making it clear that apprenticeships are available to everyone and factors like age, background or status have no relevance. They are a systematic approach to learn and develop a new skill whether that’s straight after school, after college or for someone looking for a career change.
Label
Pros and considerations
Pros
- You can see the results of your work.
- You’ll get to work with lots of people.
- Each day will be different.
Considerations
- It’s a competitive industry.
- You won’t get the traditional ‘uni’ experience.
- Some sales roles can be commission-based.
Who would suit a sales, marketing, and procurement apprenticeship?
You might be interested in a sales, marketing, and procurement apprenticeship if you:
- like the idea of marketing for big brands
- enjoy working with and talking to people
- are interested in how businesses work and make profit
You might be a good fit for a sales and marketing apprenticeship if you are:
- sociable and bubbly
- a good communicator
- creative
- an analytical thinker
Getting a good basis of how sales, marketing, and procurement works is also a great foundation if you want to set up your own company or go freelance one day.
Sheona shares her top tips for securing an apprenticeship in the industry.
Browse employers
Check out who offer marketing apprenticeships, including BT, Vodafone, and Sky to name a few.
Discover employers
FAQs about sales, marketing, and procurement apprenticeships
How do apprenticeships in this industry work?
An apprenticeship is an opportunity to work and study at the same time. You spend most of your time doing on-the-job training, and the rest is spent working towards a qualification. You get paid a salary and get dedicated study time throughout the week.
Apprenticeships are available at a range of levels depending on the type you do.
How long is an apprenticeship in the sector?
The length of your apprenticeship depends on the level you’re taking. For example, a degree apprenticeship could take three to six years, whereas an advanced apprenticeship could take one to two years.
What qualifications do you need?
Entry requirements are different depending on the role you’re interested in. For example, Level 2 apprenticeships generally need no formal qualifications, while you may need GCSEs and A levels for a degree apprenticeship.
Remember, it’s not all about qualifications. Employers will be looking for willingness to learn, passion, and transferrable skills you could bring to the role.
What is the salary for an apprentice in the sector?
The salary varies depending on the role you’re interested in, and every employer will pay differently. You will be paid at least the minimum wage of £4.81 per hour, but many employers offer more than this. You’ll need to have a look at some vacancies to get an idea of what the salary would be.
Digital marketing is innovative and exciting. There are always new digital channels being released and, as an industry, we’re always looking for new ways to do and test things. With everything going digital, it’s such a broad area that will just continue to expand massively going forward.
Having a behind the scenes view of how it all works has been the most beneficial to my development. I enjoy the theory and study element, but it’s seeing everything as it’s applied in my day job that really makes the theory sink in. Businesses put a lot of trust in their apprentices, so you’re given real responsibilities right from the start.
Search for apprenticeships
Want to see what vacancies are out there or ready to apply? Use our Career Finder tool to search for your perfect apprenticeship.
Search for vacancies
Looking for jobs and apprenticeships? We can match you to potential employers.
Just create a UCAS account and fill in a quick form to tell us what you are interested in, where you live, and how far you want to travel.