How Students Can Gain Valuable Work Experience Online Through Apprenticeship Programs
According to US college enrollment statistics, there has been a 200% increase in overall university enrollment since 1965. In 2018, there are nearly 20 million students actively pursuing college degrees in the United States alone.
A UNESCO report on global education revealed that enrollment on a global level has doubled to over 200 million since 2000.
Young people have been taught that a four-year college degree is an entry ticket to a better life, promising a stable, rewarding career with a higher salary than can be achieved with a high school diploma. But, the degree alone, even with killer grades, is not enough. Work experience is essential.
It can be confusing to navigate the different job training programs available but digital student apprenticeship programs, such as Acadium’s digital marketing apprenticeships, allow greater efficiency and flexibility than traditional methods.
Is a Student Apprenticeship Program Right for Me?
Contrary to media images of university students partying it up in togas and experimenting socially, doing well in college is hard work and students are incredibly busy.
More and more, they are having to work low-paying jobs that have nothing to do with their career interests just to cover tuition and living costs. Adding a 20+ hour per week unpaid internship on top of coursework and a part-time job just isn’t feasible. There aren’t enough hours in the day!
If this sounds like you, a digital student apprenticeship program might be the best pathway to success.
How to Gain Work Experience Online with Acadium
Step 1. Create a Stellar Profile
Your Acadium profile serves as an introduction to who you are as a person, what you bring to the table and what skills you wish to grow. It’s also an opportunity to make a great first impression on potential mentors. Expect to include the following information:
· A brief introduction in the About Me section
· The skills you wish to grow
· Your education and previous experience
· The marketing tools you already know how to use
· Your subject areas of interest
· A well-crafted digital marketing resume
Here’s how to create a superstar profile that catches the attention of business owners.
Step 2. Complete Free Online Courses
In order to prepare you to be the best apprentice you can be, Acadium provides a range of free online courses created by industry professionals to grow the most in-demand marketing skills.
You can learn the basics of social media management, ad campaigns, blogging strategies, SEO and a whole lot more. You only need to complete one course to enter an apprenticeship; but the more courses you complete, the more experience points you will gain to show off on your profile and the more value you will be able to offer to a potential mentor.
Step 3. Connect with a Mentor and Start the Student Apprenticeship Program
Once you have perfected your profile and completed all the coursework that suits your interests, it’s time to reach out to business owners and find your mentor.
How students benefit most from apprenticeship programs is by working 1-on-1 with business owners within their area of interest who have experience in marketing. Whether you are interested in personal development blogging, B2B marketing, social media managment or sports journalism, Acadium has a mentor to fit your aspirations.
The digital apprenticeship students enter into is a 3 month term where you work 5–10 hours per week, remote, on flexible hours, with vetted business owners who give you feedback and guidance.
Because the time commitment per week is so small, it is easy to fit an apprenticeship in between working and studying. If you’re not working or are on a summer break from your studies, it is also possible to do multiple apprenticeships at once or in sequence.
The benefit is not just the flexibility but also the opportunity to hone a variety of different skills in a range of unique interest areas. This is especially helpful if you are not sure what aspect of digital marketing you want to make a career out of. You could spent 3 months learning all the ins and outs of starting a blog and developing strategies to help it grow. Then you could jump into expanding the reach and engagement rate of social media pages or running a podcast.
Or, if content writing is your thing, you could take on several apprenticeships where you are writing on completely different topics or in different styles so that you can develop your range. You could apply apply the same strategy to learning different ways of running digital advertising campaigns building brands for various companies. Versatility is king.
In return for their guidance and feedback, business owners get a much needed extra hand in their marketing efforts and a chance to build a relationship with fresh talent full of energy and ideas.
If you’re a business owner, here are 3 reasons to hire student marketers.
Conclusion: Digital Apprenticeships Provide Work Experience That Works For You
Students gain valuable work experience through digital apprenticeships because the programs are convenient, flexible and easily adaptable to different interests and lifestyles.
Apprenticeships offer busy students the opportunity to develop a range of in-demand skills at a fast pace in real-world scenarios. They get to turn these experiences into impressive portfolios that will wow future employers and give them a leg up in landing great jobs after graduation.
Any graduate with a communications degree might know the theory behind branding a business or designing an advertising campaign. They might be able to write you a super essay about it. An Acadium student apprentice will walk into an interview able to demonstrate how they have actually done it!
If you want to get started on the work experience you need to really put your college degree to use, create your Acadium profile today!
