Investing in Youth Pays Dividends for Award-Winning Marketing Agency

A Yorkshire-based marketing agency with a rich history of winning industry-renowned awards owes a lot of its success to a philosophy of recruiting the best in class of young creative talent.

MultiWebMarketing – found on the outskirts of South Yorkshire’s town of Doncaster in Askern – has been voted the best digital marketing agency in the UK for four years running from various awarding bodies. This is a feat made even more impressive by the youthful dynamic of its fast-growing team.

And in National Apprenticeship Week 2022, running from 7 to 22 February, it is fitting to pay tribute to the importance that the company’s thriving apprenticeship scheme has played in its recent success.

Managing Director Paul Smith first hired an apprentice in September 2013. In total, the business has welcomed 11 apprentices into the building and today, more than 50 per cent of the company’s head count are either current apprentices or former apprentices now in full-time roles.

“I’ve always wanted to support youth employment – it’s something I am an avid believer in,” explained Paul.

“It is a very strategic move from our business. There’s a lot of creative talent interested in our sector and these are the kind of people we want in our teams. We only ever take on an apprentice when there is a genuine full-time employment opportunity at the end of it.

“We have brought a lot of new people into the business who are armed with significant digital experience and we get the opportunity to nurture and direct that towards our business and our clients. We are always looking for the best in class and the people in this age group who apply for our apprenticeships have only ever known using social digital platforms, so it gives them a massive advantage to work within our sector.”

Learning on the job, MultiWebMarketing’s first-ever apprentice, Kieran Bates, actually completed two apprenticeships and is still working for the business today in his role as Studio Team Leader.

“It’ll be nine years this year since I joined the business with my first apprenticeship and that makes me feel really old,” he said with a smile on his face.

“Jokingly, I always say I’m not allowed to leave but it’s really been a great place to work. I learned a lot in the early days working side-by-side with Paul who has many, many years of experience. The training is ongoing, and our teams are given time on Friday to dedicate to personal development. It’s important we continue to progress and keep our skills refreshed and our pencils sharp. With what we do for our clients, we need to constantly stay ahead of the curve.”

As an extension to the company's investment in young talent in the local area, MultiWebMarketing has also partnered up with the nearby Doncaster UTC, which will become a new pathway for more apprentices to come into the business in the coming years.

Content Marketing Executive, Emma Feetham joined the business from the local college and gained a Level 4 Digital Marketing Apprenticeship – the highest standard achievable in the UK, which puts her among the top 10 per cent of apprentices. She also won the Commercial Enterprise and Creative Apprentice of the Year 2020 at the Doncaster College Apprenticeship awards.

“The apprenticeship helped me to learn a lot and has been excellent for my development,” said Emma. “I liked that I got exposure to learn a bit about all the different jobs within the business and got a firm understanding of exactly how the business operates.”

With so much benefit being realised from a focus on apprentice recruitment, this strategy is something the business will continue to embrace in the coming years as it brings more exciting projects and clients onto its books.

“We take apprentices very seriously; our business is built on them,” said Commercial Director Lewis Smith. “If creative people are looking for an apprentice opportunity, there’s no better company to offer this in our opinion."