Hiring An Apprentice: How to See an ROI In Just 30 Days
At Swarm Training, we’re prepared to make a bold statement. From experience, we believe you will notice a positive ROI in your business when hiring an apprentice.
In fact, we’d go so far as to say that you’ll likely see the impact within the first 30 days. Now, that’s not just our view, it’s the feedback we hear time and again from the employers we work with, as well as from our own experience of employing apprentices. (We've added some employer feedback at the base of this blog for you to enjoy.)
For the purpose of this blog, we will use our Marketing Executive Apprenticeship as an example. However, this is transferable to any vocation when hiring an apprentice.
Here’s what those first 30 days could look like for both your apprentice and your business:
Hiring an Apprentice: The First Month - Fast Learning, Real Impact
When hiring an apprentice, the first month is all about diving in, learning quickly, and making a genuine contribution. Apprentices may be new to your company, but they’re not there to simply observe. Naturally, they’re there to roll up their sleeves and start making an impact.
Let’s take a look at the first month for a Marketing Executive Apprenticeship, broken down, week by week. Of course, these may vary according to an individual employer's business needs.
Week 1: Getting Started and Building Foundations
The first week after hiring an apprentice is all about orientation, confidence-building, and setting the stage for success.
Skills Scan & Induction: Every apprentice begins with a one-to-one skills scan. This is a simple but powerful way to benchmark their current knowledge, identify strengths, and highlight areas for growth.
Onboarding with Your Business: They’ll meet your team, learn your processes, and get familiar with the tools and platforms you use. Think of this as setting them up with the keys to your marketing toolkit.
First Practical Tasks: Apprentices don’t sit on the sidelines. Even in week one, they can start supporting with essential tasks such as scheduling social media posts, gathering content ideas, or monitoring your marketing channels.
Online Training: Your apprentice will join other apprentices for a 2-hour CPD session. They will work on tasks set by their tutor to research their organisation to prepare themselves for marketing the business.
✅ ROI for you: In just a few days, after hiring an apprentice, you’ll already be saving time on routine tasks while giving them real-world learning opportunities.
Week 2: Learning Core Skills and Adding Value
With the basics under their belt, the second week is when apprentices begin applying their learning to your business goals.
Introduction to Marketing Channels: They’ll start understanding the different ways you connect with your audience—social media, email, content, paid advertising, etc. —and where their support is most valuable.
Content Support: Apprentices often start by creating draft content for social media or newsletters. With your guidance, they begin to develop a voice that matches your brand.
Workshop Participation: This is typically when apprentices attend their first live online workshop with their tutor and peers. Here, they’ll dive into topics such as audience research, marketing strategy basics, and content planning.
✅ ROI for you: By week two, they’re already contributing ideas and supporting campaigns—freeing you and your team to focus on higher-level strategy.
Week 3: Applying Knowledge in Real-Time
This is where the apprentice begins to combine learning with practical application.
Campaign Involvement: They might help draft copy for a social post, schedule an email campaign, or assist in analysing early results.
Practical Assignments: After their workshop, apprentices are given specific tasks to complete in your workplace. This could be creating a short social media content plan or conducting a piece of market research.
CPD Development: Apprentices also attend cross-discipline CPD sessions, where they learn essential soft skills such as time management, communication, and problem-solving—skills that make them more effective team players.
✅ ROI for you: Their work starts to have visible outcomes—whether that’s boosting engagement on social media, improving email open rates, or delivering insights from research that help shape your next campaign.
Week 4: Growing Confidence and Delivering Results
By the end of the first month, the apprentice has moved from onboarding to actively driving tasks that add value.
Portfolio Building: Every task completed feeds into their portfolio of evidence, but more importantly, it represents real, measurable work they’ve done for your business.
Advanced Input: With three weeks of experience under their belt, they’re now able to bring fresh ideas and creative thinking to the table—whether that’s suggesting a new content angle, refining a campaign message, or spotting trends in customer data.
Feedback Loop: Tutors provide feedback on their work, and you’ll start to see noticeable progress in both their skillset and their contribution to your business.
✅ ROI for you: By week four, your apprentice isn’t just learning—they’re delivering. They’re completing real tasks that save you time, improve your marketing, and create new growth opportunities.
Support Every Step of the Way
One of the biggest misconceptions about apprenticeships is that employers are left to figure it out alone. The truth couldn’t be further from that. When hiring an apprentice, you are also taking on a dedicated team that will support your apprentice to become a key member of your business.
Dedicated Tutors: Our tutors bring decades of industry experience to the table. They don’t just teach theory—they share practical insights that your apprentice can immediately apply.
Tailored Training: We work closely with you to understand your business needs and ensure the apprentice’s learning aligns with your priorities.
Collaborative Approach: It’s a three-way partnership: you, the apprentice, and us. Together, we make sure the apprentice is learning the right skills at the right time to deliver maximum impact.
Hiring An Apprentice: The Results After 30 Days
By the end of their first month, your apprentice will already have:
A solid understanding of core marketing techniques
Hands-on experience in creating content, supporting campaigns, and analysing data
Personalised feedback from expert tutors to keep them progressing
A portfolio of real-world work that has directly benefited your business
This is just the start. As they grow in confidence and skill, the value they bring will only increase, month after month.
Why It Works Across All Apprenticeships
While this breakdown focuses on the Marketing Executive Apprenticeship, the same structure applies across all apprenticeship standards we deliver. When hiring an apprentice, you can be confident that, whilst the subject matter may change, the outcomes are consistent: rapid learning, meaningful contribution, and measurable ROI.
''Throughout my career, some of my best hires have been people who have bypassed the traditional route of university and learned their skills through apprenticeship schemes or alternative education courses.'' - Peter Jones
Final Thoughts about Hiring An Apprentice
At Swarm Training, we want you to know that when hiring an apprentice, we are passionate about supporting you as well as the apprentice. We will work together to ensure you have a great ROI and a new member of staff who will become a productive and valued contributor to your business.
Ready to see the benefits of hiring an apprentice in your own business? Let’s talk about how we can make those first 30 days count. Contact us today to discuss your business's needs.
What employers say about having an apprentice and working with us…
“Lauren has recently started displaying a more tailored and solution orientated approach to employee queries, which is fantastic for our team's profile and reputation. She is also a fantastic support to myself and our team, offering insightful ideas and contributions to projects and challenges.”
Mia Bannister
Training and Development Manager
CSM Sport and Entertainment
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From my perspective, I have felt confident in your coaching and comfortable knowing she was getting the right support. I also appreciated that you didn’t really require much of my time on this, which shows the programme was pitched at the right level to get her through the apprenticeship.”
Amy Blackwell
People Services Team Manager, Autoglass
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“I've always appreciated the support from Teo to both myself and Becky - having worked with other apprenticeship providers I have experienced a less hands on approach from other tutors and can see the difference having someone like Teo available can make to the apprenticeship. Teo is also a great communicator and at no point did I feel uncertain of Becky’s progress. Thanks Teo it was lovely working on this with you.”
Hannah Leong
Strategic Service Manager, LASER Energy
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If you would like to upskill an existing team member in your business then you can do that too! Many people have come to their profession and current career position without formal training on best practice techniques and methods. Gaining that insight and guidance can suddenly catapult them to the next level of their role and career. It can certainly dramatically impact their productivity and effectiveness for you, their employer.
Talk to us about using Government funded Apprenticeship training to uplift your staff or bring in a new pair of hands to accelerate your productivity and impact in your market place.
Call us on: 0800 0868199
Email Louie on: louie@swarmgroup.org.uk
