People
People
This week we sat down with our very own Skye Pearson, Digital Marketing Apprentice at Mobas, who shares her experience of being an apprentice, what those considering an apprenticeship should expect, how she’s found agency life, and what it’s like juggling academic and client deadlines.
Let’s start with an easy one: how long have you been at Mobas?
I joined in September 2023, so I‘ve been at Mobas for just over a year now, which is crazy. It’s gone quickly – which is a good thing!
This is my first office job, so I had no idea what to expect. It was a big jump, as I’d only done part-time work during sixth form before – which did help in some ways – but I felt nervous and a bit overwhelmed to start with.
I really had nothing to worry about. Everyone was so welcoming, and made me feel at home. Working in an office is different than I’d experienced before, but it still has a good balance of fun and hard work.
So, how did you come to choose an apprenticeship?
I didn’t know much about marketing, agency life, or what an apprenticeship would entail, in reality.
University was not really my vibe when I finished college. The conversation around what to do after school is usually university, university, university. A good 90% of the conversations are about uni and I just didn’t think it was for me.
I was looking for something a bit different, so instead of university alone (which can be tough to get into the industry afterwards), I decided to take an apprenticeship as I wanted real-life work experience straight out of the school.
And then when I also found the people and friendships through the apprenticeship course, I chose at Anglia Ruskin University, it really set me on a good path and gave me the confidence to believe this was something that I was ready to take on.
Why did you choose Mobas?
It really is upon you to find the right business for you to work with, as well as on you to complete all of the coursework in your own time and time allocated at work. In many ways, it's much like the world of business: you need to manage your own time.
I took a look at a few agencies in the area, and I met a few times with the team at Mobas, feeling really at home and comfortable with them. I knew they would look after me, but also challenge me to be a real part of the team from day one.
What is a digital marketing apprenticeship, and what does it mean for you?
My apprenticeship involves getting an undergraduate degree in digital marketing, with what’s called ‘blended learning’ – working for a real business and the uni part is fully funded between your employer and the Government, so there are no tuition fees.
So, my course is four years, which is pretty long! I’m almost finishing my first year and it’s a lengthy process with a long list of KSB (knowledge, skills and behaviours) to demonstrate. These are the core attributes that apprentices must show to be competent in and show progress through a body of evidence.
Being able to work on real-life examples at an agency such as Mobas, rather than theoretical examples from a textbook, has been so good. The changes, timeframes, speed of delivery, and how to interact professionally with colleagues and clients has been so eye-opening, and something I’d never get from uni alone.
It’s been really helpful working alongside the coursework: I’d recommend and scream about it to everyone.
What’s it like working at an agency like Mobas?
I love the work, it’s really interesting. One main thing I didn’t realise is the difference between agency and in-house, and how that relationship can be so different, yet the same service, from client to client.
Agency life gives you so much, and you can develop quicker, I feel, from the visibility of so much more across different clients, sectors and services than you could ever get from being in a classroom.
For anyone considering apprenticeships, there may be times I feel out of my depth, or not understanding something, but if you’re in a supportive place like Mobas, you’ll get the help you need to learn quickly on the job.
And, of course, the socials are fun and the office is a good atmosphere. We’re currently hybrid working, and having that balance is nice. I work from home on Fridays and Wednesdays, which is a good chance to catch up on uni work and other tasks.
Do you have a favourite area of digital marketing in the past year?
I really have covered so much since I started, and each week I pick up a little more experience on something new.
Since joining, I’ve touched on a little bit of web development and content population, as well as some page creation and design. And I’ve also worked on projects around organic and paid social content, and social media content creation. I’ve been learning alongside people who have done it for many years, so it’s great to get a really good understanding.
I guess one of my favourite areas is organic social, where I’ve worked on different clients from sectors such as recycling and waste, property. and the corporate world. I really like creating new ideas and seeing how they perform across Meta and LinkedIn.
Also, websites in terms of design, SEO and UX – it’s been so interesting learning how they all come together, and how one change can make an impact to that business. Sometimes it can take a long time, such as quality assurance for websites, testing a website before ‘go live’ – but it’s so important.
Cam’s been great as a manager. Very supportive and finding things to do to help me learn. The whole team have been supportive too – working in the Digital team, we work with everyone across the business.
What are you most excited to be working on right now?
One that stands out for me is Ellgia – one of our clients who work across waste and recycling. It was nice to start working on their projects as some of it launched close to the same time I began my apprenticeship. The group of people working on Ellgia make a really strong team and have included me so much.
It was so nice to see the behind the scenes, learning and watching the process, as I progressed.
What area are you looking into more?
The general area of paid ads/social is definitely something I want to start learning more about. I’ve been starting to shadow these kinds of tasks, work on PPC and using Meta business suite more.
