RNLI Marketing apprentice case study -1

‘I’m really enjoying being at the RNLI, and feel like I’ve settled in well. I absolutely love being around all the people – they have loads of experience, and it’s good to be able to learn off everyone!’

‘My apprenticeship involves spending six months in four different teams within Marketing at the RNLI. I’m currently coming to the end of my first six months, which I’ve spent in social media. I’ve learnt how to do analytics for our social media campaigns. I’ve been helping to come up with content for our social media channels and for our social media campaigns, as well as helping to respond to our supporters on social media. My favourite thing to work on so far has been working on the PayPal Turkey Dash. I was able to use my Photoshop skills to create pictures of our celebrity ambassadors with our Aardman-created turkey, which went out on social media. This helped the RNLI to win extra awards in the competition for most likes and retweets, which was really good to be part of.

‘So far, the hardest thing I’ve found about my apprenticeship is that I like my current department so much that I’ll be sad to leave it to move to the next one! However, I can’t wait to learn everything I can from my next team and the other teams I’ll be going to later on. I’m moving to Brand Marketing next, and I can’t wait to get stuck in! I think having a range of different teams that we go into as part of the apprenticeship is really good. Everyone in each of the teams has different specialisms, and I’m really looking forward to being able to learn from them all.

‘On Thursdays, I go to college. I’m currently working towards my Level 3 NVQ and Diploma in ‘The Principles of Marketing’. The RNLI are really supportive: before Christmas we had quite a few exams to prepare for, it was really good because if we needed time to revise then we could take time out during work to go and prepare for the exams. Likewise, if I need to take extra time during the week to do my college work, then I can. I’m also really lucky as a lot of what I do at work I can use to count towards my qualification, such as presentations and using social and digital media for campaigns.

‘I did three years of A-levels whilst in Sixth Form: in my first year of A-levels I did subjects that didn’t really suit me, so I decided to change. I ended up doing Media, Sociology and Dance. In my third year of A-levels I had a free day during the week so I applied to do some volunteering in the RNLI’s marketing department. I ended up volunteering in social media then, which was really good experience and I absolutely loved it. As soon as the applications came out for the Marketing Apprenticeship last year, I applied.

‘I did a lot of research into apprenticeships before I decided to apply to do one. I didn’t really know much about them, and it can feel that teachers are all telling you to go to university. For anyone thinking about doing an apprenticeship, I’d say make sure it’s something you want to do and to research the organisation to make sure it’s somewhere you want to work. For me, doing the volunteering in the office was really useful as it gave me an insight into whether marketing was something wanted to go into, and that it was an organisation I felt passionately about.’

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates over 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and, in a normal year, more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 142,700 lives.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.