Gemma Pearce talks about why hiring an apprentice proved to be a game-changing decision for her business, Loopwheels.
There has been a lot of gloom in business circles about the cost of employing staff since last October’s Budget announcement on changes to National Insurance and increases in the National Minimum Wage/National Living Wage.
One of the worries expressed is around the increase in the hourly pay rate for apprentices in April 2025, which puts pressure on raising pay levels for those employees with more experience to maintain fairness across the whole team. Some employers have questioned if investing in apprentices stacks up against taking on an older, more experienced staff.
Hiring an apprentice was the best business decision I made in 2024. I’d even go so far as to say it may prove to be one of the best decisions I have made for my small manufacturing business in the last decade!
As we reflect on National Apprenticeships Week 2025, I’m reminded that it was around this time a year ago when I wrote and issued an advert for our first apprentice.
Why did we decide to go down the apprenticeship route?
A key challenge for our micro-sized manufacturing business was how we could afford to bring in an expert dedicated digital marketing resource, who would understand our business and work with us on a medium to long-term basis.
While there are plenty of good digital marketing agencies, and, SMEs can access excellent free and paid-for advice, we knew we needed something more. We explored these options with some good results, however, the time had arrived when we needed someone who would be based within our team, with daily access to our manufacturing site, and could develop our digital marketing strategy and activity from the inside out. We needed someone with more enthusiasm, commitment, dedicated time and growing expertise than the current team or an external adviser could bring to the task. After all, digital media is a voracious beast! For a small manufacturer with a global or international market, it can be incredibly powerful – but only if it’s fed with consistent, focused effort.
And how has the experience been so far?
I worked with Nottingham Trent University (NTU), to advertise and recruit our degree apprentice, Ellie James. NTU offers numerous degree apprenticeship schemes, including a Digital Marketing Apprentice Degree, which met our needs exactly. It’s a 42-month block release course (3 ½ years), and the apprentice will be an integral part of our team during that time. NTU supported me with every step of the recruitment – I was able to shortlist 70 good-quality applicants. It is in the university’s interests and ours to recruit the right candidate, and their support and experience felt like a true partnership with shared goals.
Our apprentice, Ellie, is a valued employee, we meet the full costs of Ellie’s salary, and she is based in our business and is with us most of the week. Her degree, on the other hand, is funded by the government. The apprenticeship is block-release, on average, in term-time, Ellie spends around three days at Loopwheels, one day a week at university, and a further day a week working and/or studying from home. During the university holidays, Ellie devotes more time to the business.
This arrangement, allows both the business and Ellie, to benefit from the latest digital marketing skills and knowledge the university provides. We apply these skills to the real-life case study of marketing Loopwheels in the UK and internationally, selling our product to around 20 countries.
Ellie joined us in July 2024 to gain some understanding of the business before she began her course at NTU in September. From day one, we could see and feel the positive impact of another intelligent, well-informed, highly motivated and committed team member on our company and digital marketing. Ellie has hit the ground running, and her contribution to our company is tangible and impactful. As she continues through her degree, we’re confident her impact will only grow stronger.