Why apprenticeships are more important than ever

Apprenticeships have a vital part to play in the growth of the digital sector — and they’re playing an absolutely crucial role in Ascensor’s continued success.

We’ve always been huge advocates of digital apprenticeships, recruiting our first apprentice back in 2012.

As the digital industry has developed, so has the range of roles and skills required. And the fast-paced nature of the sector means that traditional academic training can often be out of date by the time it’s studied.

That’s why apprenticeships have been a key factor in our success - currently seven members of our 36-strong team are either apprentices or qualified and undergoing an additional apprentice qualification.

In the TV spotlight

Apprenticeships have recently been in the national spotlight, and after it was revealed that the number of apprenticeships has fallen by 50 per cent in the last 10 years, ITV News presenter Amani Ibrahimi visited our Leeds HQ to interview paid media apprentices Joe and Sandra, apprentice QA tester Ben (together with their team leaders Kim and Jonny) and director Andy about the importance of Ascensor’s apprenticeship scheme.

It was great to give balance to the news piece and show that progressive firms can offer valuable, effective apprenticeships.

We’re committed to providing secure opportunities that include structured training and the chance to progress, and we’re incredibly proud to have supported so many apprentices over the years.

We work closely with great training providers to support skills development - Estio support our digital marketing training and The Coders Guild deliver website development, quality assurance and testing capabilities.


A genuine career path

Modern apprenticeships provide the perfect combination of core academic skills and in-industry training, equipping learners for the sector as it is today, and for the future.

They’re also increasingly attractive to over-25s as well as school leavers, thanks to a focus on providing a structured, progressive career approach.

Under current requirements, an apprenticeship must last for at least 12 months and have 20 per cent of time dedicated to off-the-job training.

Our apprenticeship approach

Leeds is a recognised digital hub - and according to the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, the region now has more than 100,000 people working in the digital sector, contributing £6.5bn to the local economy.

Some major industry names have based themselves in the city in recent years, and their expansion means that recruitment can sometimes be a challenge.

Thankfully we established our apprenticeship programme a decade ago, and are well equipped to offer comprehensive support.

Apprenticeships at Ascensor offer genuine on-the-job training and experience that sets team members up for a career in digital.

Once they’re up and running, our apprentices work alongside more senior professionals on important client projects across a wide range of digital marketing and web development disciplines.

We also provide leadership and development training, and have used apprenticeships to support our managers and team leaders.

The benefits for Ascensor

For Ascensor, there are plenty of advantages to our well-managed apprenticeship scheme.

It means we can adapt training to meet the evolving needs of our business; our apprentices are always highly motivated to develop new skills and we can quickly expand, upskill and reskill current and future employees.

We’re growing quickly and currently looking to increase the size of our team - so we’ll be recruiting additional apprentices alongside senior roles in order to offer them the support they need.

We're always looking to welcome talented developers and marketers, but there's something REALLY special about nurturing home-grown talent.


At Ascensor, the apprenticeship route offers the perfect blend of skills training and experience. Looking to further your career in digital? Take a look at our careers page to learn more.

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