It’s time to challenge the perception of apprenticeships in digital marketing

Jude Holloway, Chief Operating Officer Educ8 Training

There has been a long-standing perception that apprenticeships sit outside the traditional pathway to professional success. For years, they’ve been positioned as a second choice rather than a strategic decision, particularly in industries like marketing, where degrees and postgraduate qualifications have often been viewed as the benchmark.

From my perspective, that view is not only outdated, but also increasingly out of step with the realities of how businesses operate, how skills are developing, and how policy is likely to evolve following the Senedd election.

Skills, policy and rising business pressure
Skills policy is moving firmly up the agenda, with growing recognition that productivity, digital capability and workforce development will be central to long-term economic growth. However, at the same time, businesses are under sustained pressure. Rising employment costs, tighter margins, and a competitive labour market are all forcing organisations to rethink how they develop talent. Training is no longer a ‘nice to have’ but a core business decision tied directly to performance and resilience.

Bringing professional weight to work-based learning
The partnership between Educ8 Training and the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) for the launch of our Digital Marketing Level 4 qualification is a useful example of how that perception is starting to shift.

CIM is a highly respected professional body that sets standards across the marketing industry. Its accreditation carries weight with employers because it signals a recognised level of professional competence. By embedding CIM accreditation into a work-based apprenticeship model, you are effectively aligning two worlds that have traditionally been separate: professional chartered standards and workplace learning.

Challenging outdated assumptions about apprenticeships
There is still a persistent assumption that apprenticeships sit below academic routes. In practice, that view is increasingly difficult to justify, particularly in fast-moving sectors like digital marketing. The reality is that modern marketing requires a blend of strategic thinking, data interpretation, creativity, and technical fluency. Crucially, these skills are not developed effectively in isolation from the workplace.

They require testing, adapting and refining in real time, and that is where structured apprenticeships offer a clear advantage over more traditional learning models.

A response to economic conditions, not just education needs
The wider economic backdrop is important here. Businesses are being asked to do more with less, and productivity expectations are rising while budgets remain tight and recruitment challenges persist. As a result, many employers are shifting focus from external hiring to internal development. The ability to upskill existing employees quickly and effectively has become a strategic priority.

This is where partnerships between training providers and professional bodies become particularly relevant because they are workforce solutions designed to respond to real business pressures. Nowhere is this more apparent than in digital marketing.

Digital marketing and the pace of change
The discipline has evolved rapidly over the past decade, and that pace is not slowing. AI-driven tools, changing consumer behaviour, and increasingly complex multi-channel ecosystems mean marketers are expected to make faster, more informed decisions than ever before.

That creates a demand for professionals who can combine technical ability with commercial understanding. It is no longer enough to be able to “do marketing”, and now individuals must understand how their activity contributes to wider business outcomes. Work-based learning, particularly when supported by professional standards such as CIM, is well placed to develop that balance.

Applied learning and real business impact
One of the strengths of apprenticeship models is immediacy. Learners remain in the workplace, applying new concepts directly to live campaigns and real business challenges. This creates a feedback loop that is difficult to replicate in traditional classroom-based environments. Learning is reinforced through application, and employers benefit from improved performance while development is taking place, not after it has finished.

Funding and accessibility in Wales
From a Welsh perspective, funding support for apprenticeships remains a key enabler, because it allows businesses of all sizes to invest in higher-level skills development without the upfront financial burden that often comes with external training programmes. However, funding alone is not enough to drive uptake, with perception still playing a major role in whether businesses choose to engage with apprenticeships at a strategic level.

That is why professional partnerships like CIM are important, because they help reposition apprenticeships as what we at Educ8 Training know them to be – credible, high-value development routes rather than purely vocational training.

Post-election priorities and the skills agenda
It is likely that the new Welsh Government will place continued emphasis on skills, productivity and regional growth. The challenge will not just be creating more training opportunities, but ensuring those opportunities are aligned with real business needs and deliver measurable impact.

There is also a growing expectation that public investment in skills must demonstrate clear return, both in terms of economic output and workforce progression. In that context, models that combine workplace learning with recognised professional standards are likely to become increasingly relevant.

A shift in how skills pathways are understood
The value of the Educ8 Training and CIM’s Digital Marketing Level 4 partnership reflects a broader shift in how we think about skills development. If apprenticeships are to play a meaningful role in addressing Wales’ long-term productivity and skills challenges, they must be understood not as alternatives to traditional education, but as equally credible pathways into professional careers.

The direction of travel is already clear, and the question now is how quickly businesses, policymakers and industry bodies are prepared to fully recognise it.

Educ8