What could hiring a marketing apprentice save you?
Shift routine marketing off your team and onto a dedicated, marketing apprentice. Move the sliders to see the impact for your business.
Your numbers
Adjust these to match your business.
The person currently squeezing marketing in
Hours that could transfer to an apprentice
~20% is protected off-the-job training time
Drives funding and incentives (non-levy employer)
Senior time reclaimed
£8,107
416 hrs/year handed back
Cheaper per hour
49%
£9.89/hr vs £19.49/hr
Extra marketing time
+20 hrs/wk
3.5× your current marketing hours
Extra marketing you didn't have before
Apprentice works 35 hrs/wk, less ~20% protected off-the-job training.
- SEO6.0 hrs
- Content & copywriting5.0 hrs
- Social media4.0 hrs
- Email marketing3.0 hrs
- Paid ads & more2.0 hrs
Over a year that's 920 hours of extra marketing (20 hrs × 46working weeks) — work your team simply didn't have time for before.
Support & savings in year one
- Training — 100% fundedYou pay £0
- Apprentice hiring payment£2,000
- Employer NI saved (apprentice 21–24)£1,950
- Free recruitment — we source & screen£1,000
- CIM Level 3 Award in Content and Channels — included£1,200
- Total support & savings£6,150
The CIM award also works for retention: outside the apprenticeship, the CIM Level 3 Foundation Certificate takes two modules — completing the apprenticeship counts as an exemption for the second, so finishing earns your apprentice the full certificate. That's a strong incentive to see the programme through with you.
Effective first-year cost
£11,850
A dedicated marketer spending ~28 hours a week on your SEO, social, email and content — after £6,150 of funding, incentives, NI relief, free recruitment and an embedded CIM qualification, and handing 416 hours a year back to your senior team.
Talk to us about hiring an apprenticeEmail me this breakdown
Get these exact numbers — £11,850 effective first-year cost with your settings — in your inbox to share with your team.
Illustrative estimate based on the figures you enter and the 2026–27 apprenticeship funding rules for non-levy employers. Hourly costs are salary ÷ 1,950 working hours; apprentice productive time assumes ~20% off-the-job training. Funding, the £2,000 hiring payment and the £1,000 payment carry eligibility conditions and effective dates; the £3,000 Youth Jobs Grant (hiring an 18–24-year-old on Universal Credit 6+ months) runs from 30 June 2026. Employers pay no National Insurance on apprentices under 25 (versus under 21 for other staff), so the NI saving shown applies to ages 21–24 and is indicative — rates change yearly. The recruitment figure is a conservative floor for what you'd otherwise pay an agency to source and screen a junior hire. The £1,200 CIM figure is indicative of buying the Level 3 Award in Content and Channels outside the apprenticeship. Check gov.uk for your circumstances.
Ready to build marketing capacity for less?
Our apprenticeships help organisations save thousands, ease workloads, and build skilled, CIM-qualified marketing teams ready to deliver results. Complete the form and our team will show you exactly how an apprentice could fit into your business — and what funding support you could access.