This National Apprenticeship Week, Living Better is celebrating the power of apprenticeship learning, as Natalia shares her experience as Digital Marketing Degree Apprentice. Natalia has spent the past 18-months growing her skills, confidence, and career in a role that she loves.
A Learning Journey That Blends Study and Real World Experience
Natalia describes her apprenticeship as both exciting and demanding. She balances university study, apprenticeship training, and her day‑to‑day role at Living Better, each one shaping her into a well‑rounded marketing professional.
Her university work gives her the theory: how marketing has evolved, why certain strategies work, and how businesses communicate effectively. Assignments push her to think critically and apply academic ideas to real business scenarios, which she then implements in her role at Living Better. Her journey towards becoming a professional marketer is all about learning new skills, applying them, and then making improvements along the way.
Learning by Doing: The Apprenticeship Advantage
With dedicated ‘off‑the‑job learning’ time, Natalia can focus on developing professional behaviours and gathering evidence of her growing skills. What she values most is the ability to put theory into practice, such as testing ideas, evaluating strategies, and seeing the impact of her work in real time by contributing to Living Better’s marketing approach.
Her role as Digital Marketing Apprentice spans many areas of the charity, from producing marketing materials for our programmes – Children & Young People, Adults & Older People, Place & Communities, and Sport & Welfare – to managing our social media presence. She has developed teamwork, communication, and adaptability skills that have helped her grow into a confident and capable member of the team, with aspirations of continuing this growth into a leadership position.
Natalia has also commended her apprenticeship as it as the added bonus of enabling her to earn a qualification without the burden of student debt, all while being paid and gaining real experience.
Growing in Confidence and Professionalism
Now that Natalia is 18-months into her journey, she feels comfortable contributing to workplace discussions, sharing ideas, and taking on new responsibilities that reinforce Living Better’s mission while helping to make a difference across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. She also notes, that being part of such a supportive team has helped her develop problem‑solving skills, resilience, and the confidence to step into new challenges.
Looking to the future, she sees the next 24-months of her marketing apprenticeship as an opportunity to continue growing both personally and professionally.
Why Apprenticeships Matter
For Natalia, this has been the perfect route for her to enter into a digital marketing career as it offers the best of both worlds: academic learning and hands‑on experience. She believes apprenticeships give learners the tools to start by building workplace‑ready skills alongside gaining industry knowledge.
Not to mention, employers benefit too. Apprenticeships can offer organisations a cost‑effective way to develop a skilled, motivated workforce while strengthening long‑term capability. They help employers grow talent that is aligned to their values, culture, and specific skills needs, improving staff retention and productivity. Apprenticeships can also widen access to opportunity – supporting diversity and social mobility, while bringing fresh perspectives, and new energy into teams. In addition, funded apprenticeship programmes enable organisations to invest in professional development at all levels, strengthening leadership, succession planning, and overall organisational resilience.
When asked to summarise her experience, she states “it’s challenging, rewarding, and opens doors to long‑term success without the financial pressure of traditional university pathways”. As National Apprenticeship Week continues, Natalia hopes more people will consider this route as an alternative to traditional university study.
Want to know more?
If you are thinking about starting an apprenticeship or welcoming an apprentice into your organisation, now is the perfect time to explore what this pathway can offer. Find out more by visiting National Apprenticeship Week 2026.
