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The Marketing
Trainer
Approved CIM apprenticeship provider

CIM marketing apprenticeships

CIM does not run apprenticeships. We are an approved CIM apprenticeship provider that embeds the CIM Level 3 Foundation Certificate in Marketing into the Multi-channel marketer (level 3) apprenticeship standard — so your apprentice finishes with the apprenticeship and a Chartered Institute of Marketing qualification, at no extra training cost, delivered remotely across England.

One module

The only CIM module your apprentice sits alongside the apprenticeship — Content and Channels.

Exemption

Completing the apprenticeship exempts the qualification's other module, so nothing is studied twice.

Two outcomes

An apprenticeship and a CIM qualification, from one programme.

Is there a CIM marketing apprenticeship?

Not directly. The Chartered Institute of Marketing is a professional body and awarding organisation — it sets and awards marketing qualifications, but it does not deliver apprenticeships and is not a training provider on the government’s register.

What exists instead is an apprenticeship delivered by an approved training provider, with a CIM qualification embedded inside it. That is what we do. We are an approved CIM apprenticeship provider and an independent training provider on the main provider route of the Apprenticeship Provider and Assessment Register, so we can deliver both halves as a single programme.

This matters because a CIM qualification is not a mandatory part of the Multi-channel marketer apprenticeship standard. Most providers deliver the standard on its own. We choose to build the CIM qualification in, so apprentices leave with professional recognition as well as the apprenticeship.

Which CIM qualification do your apprentices gain?

The CIM Level 3 Foundation Certificate in Marketing, embedded into the Multi-channel marketer (level 3) apprenticeship.

The way it fits together is what makes it manageable. Rather than running two programmes side by side, we map the apprenticeship and the qualification against each other so the apprentice does not repeat work they have already done.

  1. The apprentice studies one CIM module

    They complete the Content and Channels module of the CIM Level 3 Foundation Certificate in Marketing alongside their apprenticeship training. This is the only additional module they sit.

  2. The apprenticeship covers the rest

    Completing the apprenticeship gives exemption from the qualification’s other module. The knowledge, skills and behaviours evidenced through the apprenticeship are recognised in place of it, so there is no duplicated study and no second set of assessments covering the same ground.

  3. They finish with both

    On completion the apprentice holds the Multi-channel marketer (level 3) apprenticeship and the CIM Level 3 Foundation Certificate in Marketing — a qualification from the Chartered Institute of Marketing, recognised across the profession.

Why this is worth having

An apprenticeship certificate shows an apprentice reached occupational competence in a job role. A CIM qualification is professional recognition from the marketing industry’s chartered body, understood by employers who have never read an apprenticeship standard. Holding both means an apprentice can demonstrate their capability inside your organisation and outside it — and it opens the route towards further CIM study and, in time, Chartered Marketer status.

Does it cost more?

The training is delivered within the apprenticeship, funded in the normal way through the apprenticeship levy or government co-investment. Under the apprenticeship funding rules, training associated with a qualification can be funded where the content overlaps the knowledge, skills and behaviours of the standard — which is exactly why we designed the mapping the way we did.

Some costs sit outside apprenticeship funding by rule rather than by choice — professional body student membership fees, for instance, cannot be met from apprenticeship funds. We will set out clearly what is included and what is not before you commit. More on how apprenticeship funding works.

What Ofsted said about this

Inspected 19 May 2026, and judged Strong standard for Achievement and Curriculum and teaching.

Inspectors singled out the decision to build a chartered qualification into the apprenticeship as an act of deliberate curriculum enrichment, describing leaders as acting decisively to strengthen and enrich apprentices’ learning experiences — for example by embedding chartered standard qualifications — and concluding that this makes the curriculum meaningful, relevant and highly impactful for apprentices.

“Trainers are subject specialists in marketing who provide high-quality teaching.”
Ofsted inspection report, 19 May 2026

Ofsted also judged us to reach the Strong standard for Achievement. In 2025/26, 92% of our apprentices achieved their apprenticeship — 34 of 37 — against a national average of 65%. All 34 who achieved gained a merit or distinction, and 62% achieved a distinction.

Read our full Ofsted report card · Read our 2025/26 performance report

Which apprenticeships do you deliver?

Apprenticeship standards delivered by The Marketing Trainer and the CIM qualification embedded in each
StandardLevelCIM qualification embedded
Multi-channel marketerLevel 3 (ST1031)CIM Level 3 Foundation Certificate in Marketing
Market research executiveLevel 4Talk to us about the current qualification pathway

Both are delivered fully remotely to employers across England. Apprentices are taught live and coached throughout — an apprenticeship cannot be delivered entirely by self-directed distance learning, and ours is not.

Common questions

Is there a CIM marketing apprenticeship?

Not directly. The Chartered Institute of Marketing is a professional body and awarding organisation — it sets and awards marketing qualifications, but it does not deliver apprenticeships and is not a training provider on the government's register. What exists instead is an apprenticeship delivered by an approved training provider with a CIM qualification embedded inside it, which is what we do.

Which CIM qualification do apprentices gain?

The CIM Level 3 Foundation Certificate in Marketing, embedded into the Multi-channel marketer (level 3) apprenticeship. The apprentice studies the Content and Channels module alongside their apprenticeship training, and completing the apprenticeship gives exemption from the qualification's other module. On completion they hold both.

Is a CIM qualification part of the Multi-channel marketer standard?

No. The standard does not mandate any professional qualification. Providers who include one are choosing to go beyond the standard's requirements, so whether an apprentice gains a CIM qualification depends entirely on which training provider the employer chooses.

Does my apprentice have to sit the whole CIM certificate?

No. They study the Content and Channels module, and completion of the apprenticeship exempts the other one. The apprenticeship and the qualification are mapped against each other so there is no duplicated study and no second set of assessments covering the same ground.

Who awards the qualification?

The Chartered Institute of Marketing. We are an approved CIM apprenticeship provider, which means CIM has approved us to deliver its qualifications within apprenticeships; the qualification itself is awarded by CIM.

Does embedding a CIM qualification cost the employer more?

The training is delivered within the apprenticeship and funded in the normal way through the apprenticeship levy or government co-investment. Under the apprenticeship funding rules, training associated with a qualification can be funded where its content overlaps the knowledge, skills and behaviours of the standard. Some costs sit outside apprenticeship funding by rule, such as professional body student membership fees. See how apprenticeship funding works.

About this provider

The registrations behind the claims on this page, and where to check them.

Trading name
The Marketing Trainer
Legal entity
Game-On Coaching Limited (company number 09946328)
UKPRN
10092406
Ofsted URN
2804850
Accreditation
Approved CIM apprenticeship provider
Delivery
Fully remote, working with employers across England

The Marketing Trainer is a trading name of Game-On Coaching Limited (company number 09946328), an independent training provider on the Apprenticeship Provider and Assessment Register, UKPRN 10092406, and an approved CIM apprenticeship provider. CIM qualifications are awarded by the Chartered Institute of Marketing. Qualification structures and exemptions are set by CIM and may change; we will confirm the current arrangement before your apprentice enrols. Achievement figures are our own records for 2025/26, covering every apprentice due to complete on Multi-channel marketer (level 3) in that year. Ofsted findings are quoted from the inspection report for Game-On Coaching Limited (URN 2804850), inspected 19 May 2026, © Crown copyright 2026, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Want an apprentice who finishes CIM-qualified?

We deliver the Multi-channel marketer (level 3) apprenticeship fully remotely across England, with the CIM Level 3 Foundation Certificate in Marketing built in. Tell us what your team needs and we’ll show you how an apprentice could fit — and what funding you’d qualify for.

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