seoBusiness UK appoints trio of apprentices

Blackburn-based seoBusiness UK has expanded its team in a way that helps provide skills and experience for young people by appointing three apprentices.

The trio of new recruits will work with the web development and digital marketing agency itself as well as with sister company Time2, which specialises in developing and selling smart home products.

Alex Gutman has joined as a digital marketing executive while completing a Level 3 digital marketing apprenticeship with QA. After previously working at DIY and home improvement retailer Wickes, where she was most recently operations manager, she chose to undertake an apprenticeship to help her explore future career paths.

Alex said: “I was interested in digital marketing but didn’t have the experience required to work in the field. This apprenticeship allows me to learn about everything that digital marketing encompasses and to get lots of hands-on experience. The role is already more varied than I realised it would be and I am enjoying discovering and getting involved with it all.”

Alex’s main role involves reporting progress and successes to seoBusiness UK’s clients, helping to communicate complex data and explaining the results of digital marketing campaigns. She has also been involved in contributing ideas to seoBusiness UK’s future growth plans.

Ibraheem Yousaf has joined as a junior web developer while studying as a Level 3 software development technician with QA. After completing A-Levels in physics, maths and computer science, Ibraheem chose the apprenticeship route as a way to gain experience working on real-world projects.

He assists the seoBusiness UK team with designing and building websites for clients. In addition to shadowing his team leader to learn about the role, he is also responsible for tasks including building new webpages, populating sites with content and images and helping maintain the back-end of customer websites.

Ibraheem plans to use the experience gained to pursue a full-time career in web development when he completes his course.

Matt Moore has joined the Time2 team while completing a Level 3 digital marketing apprenticeship with QA. While Matt possesses a wide variety of skills acquired through a varied career to date, this is his first digital marketing role.

At Time2, Matt’s role involves data collection, copywriting, creating content from images to video, and creating weekly email campaigns. He now hopes that his apprenticeship will give him the skills and experience required to pursue a long-term career in this field.

Matt said: “My apprenticeship has exposed me to a number of different elements within marketing. With a mixture of theoretical best practices and being able to apply these in real-world situations. I feel I have come a long way since I began my apprenticeship.

“Over the next year, my aim is to become a qualified digital marketer with a great understanding of the industry. I have found I enjoy writing and creating content within my role so this may be my focus going into the future.”

Kam Kothia, chief executive of seoBusiness UK, said that the apprenticeship scheme allows businesses such as his to build dynamic and motivated teams which hold the precise skillsets they require.

Kam said: “Our apprentices are very much regarded as part of our workforce, and are offered a wide range of opportunities to gain hands-on experience, and they are given time off to study for their formal qualifications.

“Each individual is encouraged to contribute their own creative ideas and innovative solutions to day-to-day business challenges, and wherever possible, apply the learnings from their studies.

“I am delighted that all three of our apprentices have fitted in really well, and although they are on a steep learning curve, they are already making a valuable contribution to the business.”