Two apprentices are starting to use their newfound skills to help UK firms grow their businesses after joining Derby-based digital marketing firm JDR Group.
Sophie Teece and Amelia Slater have been appointed by the Pride Park firm as digital marketing assistants, spending their working days on tasks including generating blog content, undertaking keyword research and putting in place SEO techniques.
Their work is one of number of services offered by JDR Group, which provides web design, social media and content marketing to around 200 small to medium companies around the UK.
Sophie, 22, joined the company from college after deciding she wanted to learn more about digital marketing, having also tried to launch her own business.
She said: “I’m enjoying myself and JDR Group are really helping me to learn the skills and the knowledge while I go. I’m really happy to be here and to feel part of the business while developing further.”
Amelia, 20, meanwhile, has recently returned from travelling during a gap year, having also decided to pursue a different career route to going to university.
She said: “I’ve always been interested in marketing, but I knew I didn’t want to go to university because I wanted to learn on the job.
“It’s a very different working environment to what I’m used to. I’m learning how to be professional in the way I operate, look and speak, alongside everything else, which is something I wouldn’t have experienced at university.”
Sophie and Amelia are now engaged on a 15-month apprenticeship and are being mentored by Charlotte Thornton, who is a website project co-ordinator and production team leader at the firm, having herself joined JDR Group as an apprentice straight from school four years ago.
She said: “Both Sophie and Amelia are doing really and have settled into the team, and I’m enjoying being their mentor, having previously been an apprentice here myself.
“There are more ways to get into a career beyond going to university and I’m really pleased with the decision I made to join JDR Group. My experience of being an apprentice helps me understand what Sophie and Amelia might be struggling with, which helps me to support them through the process.”
Founded as a business advice consultancy in 2004, JDR Group works with clients across a wide range of sectors, including construction, manufacturing and professional services.
Earlier this year it earned the prestigious Elite Partner status by world-leading customer relationship management platform HubSpot, a customer platform which brings companies’ marketing, sales and customer service activity together within one integrated system.
