Roy Dovaston - Managing Director
Heavyweight Digital
I started my career in IT, working for managed service providers, but despite being in the industry so long, my passion was always rooted in digital marketing. So, in 2015 I left my position to start out on a new venture, working alongside my co-founder to produce a system that deals with what we identified at the time, the growing issue of click fraud. With Click Guardian launched and enjoying immediate success, we set about developing the agency side of the business which is now known as Heavyweight Digital. My role within the business is Managing Director, although I’ve done almost every job within the business during our early years.
Roy Dovaston - Managing Director
Heavyweight Digital
What impact have apprentices had on your team?
Having worked in IT, I initially was unconvinced of how apprentices could benefit a business. This judgement was based on seeing how apprentices in my previous employment lasted a very short period of time, before disappearing into the ether! Maybe it was just a ‘numbers game’ or through experimentation to get to the best suited apprentices, either way it left me feeling discouraged that it was a viable way of employing talent. I’m pleased to say that this negative view has completely changed, having experienced the process that Apprentify use from start to finish and seen first hand the dedication of an apprentice who completed the Digital Marketer Level 3.
Roy Dovaston - Managing Director
Heavyweight Digital
In what ways have apprentices contributed to your team's success?
Olivia has gone from a keen interest in digital marketing to advanced knowledge in a very short space of time. I think this is demonstration of excellent training and framework from Apprentify, the environment and the team we had mentoring and training her here at Heavyweight Digital. Even during early stages of the apprenticeship, Olivia contributed with ideas, in some cases that more senior members of our teams had not considered.
Roy Dovaston - Managing Director
Heavyweight Digital
How have you supported the development of your apprentices and what benefits have you seen from this?
When we committed to Olivia and the apprenticeship model, we put in place a structured team of experienced experts to find what areas of digital marketing Olivia was most suited to. We identified quickly that her attention to detail and perseverance to see a job through to the end, and fully understand each aspect of the job in hand, leaned towards performance marketing in paid search models such as PPC and Social Media Management. We further supported Olivia with external training sources in addition to the excellent support being provided by Apprentify.
Roy Dovaston - Managing Director
Heavyweight Digital
What skills have your apprentices developed during their time at Heavyweight Digital?
Olivia has developed skills in various Google products such as Google Ads, Google Tag Manager & Google Analytics. In addition to the qualifications and skills gained through Apprentify, Olivia has completed various Google certifications which has contributed to Heavyweight Digital’s Google Premier Partner status, the highest tier of partnership for Google Ads.
Roy Dovaston - Managing Director
Heavyweight Digital
How have you seen your apprentices grow and progress in their roles?
As skills improved during the apprenticeship, it also became apparent that Olivia’s self-confidence was also growing. It’s a big jump when an apprentice starts at a digital marketing agency, there’s always big personalities and characters – I don’t think it’d be unfair to describe Olivia at the very beginning as being slightly timid, I think in the environment we work in it’s perfectly natural. However, having complete the apprenticeship, Olivia has gone on to become an integral part of the team, with confidence in her abilities and now regularly passes knowledge onto other colleagues.
Roy Dovaston - Managing Director
Heavyweight Digital
What advice would you give to someone who is considering taking on an apprentice?
My advice would be to hold a reasonably informal interview, bearing in mind that apprentices are unlikely to have any experience in your industry. To a degree, hiring an apprentice on personality can work, because the usual signals and responses to more technical questions is impossible. I’d personally steer away from over-confident applicants – ideally a candidate who can convince that they’re looking for a chance to enter an industry that really interests them is ideal. Taking on an apprentice gives you the opportunity to mould the candidate into business practices, processes and the role you intend for them.
Roy Dovaston - Managing Director
Heavyweight Digital
How has working with apprentices helped you and your team in achieving your goals?
I’d say from my initial expectations that Olivia has completely outperformed any goals we might have initially set. We now have a fully skilled employee who is still hungry to learn more, who understands our processes.
Roy Dovaston - Managing Director
Heavyweight Digital
What are the benefits of the Apprenticeship program.
We felt the time was right and that we had the resources to put everything into bringing through new talent. The only prerequisites was for the successful applicant to really want to learn and be part of the industry. Olivia was clearly dedicated to the apprenticeship and success beyond this in employment.
The apprenticeship that Olivia completed was comprehensive enough to set her up to become a real asset to our business. From first hand experience, investing your time and teams’ resources into an apprentice is something that I would highly recommend. Our industry is known to have a lack of skill so an apprenticeship is the perfect way to nurture new talent and provide an opportunity to people who have an underlying passion for digital marketing.
Olivia Pasfield - Digital Marketing Apprentice
Heavyweight Digital
I started my Digital Marketer level 3 apprenticeship with Heavyweight Digital in August 2021. I started my role with limited knowledge about digital marketing, however, with the help of Apprentify’s hands on approach to learning and my colleagues, I was able to complete my apprenticeship in November 2022 and earn a dissertation in my final exam. Once my apprenticeship had ended, I was awarded the position of Junior Digital Marketer.
Olivia Pasfield - Digital Marketing Apprentice
Heavyweight Digital
How has your apprenticeship helped you develop skills that are relevant to your current role?
My apprenticeship allowed me to expand my knowledge within different sectors of digital marketing, including website development and Google Analytics. I have then applied those teachings to my current role which has enabled me to secure a full time job at Heavyweight Digital. I also have my own clients for Google Ads, Microsoft Ads and Meta Ads which I manage with minimal supervision required.
Olivia Pasfield - Digital Marketing Apprentice
Heavyweight Digital
What has been the most valuable experience or training you have received during your apprenticeship?
Apprentify has aided my learning and growth within Google Analytics which is an extremely important part of my job role as it allows me to track specific actions that users take on a website. I can then import this data into Google Ads and use it as the basis to optimise campaigns. During my classes for this module, I was given an in depth tutorial on how to use Google Analytics as well as how to create and use custom reports. I was then allocated time to put those teachings into practise by using a demo account supplied by Apprentify.
Olivia Pasfield - Digital Marketing Apprentice
Heavyweight Digital
Has your apprenticeship provided you with opportunities for career advancement within the company?
My apprenticeship gave me the tools and knowledge that I needed to be able to progress within my role at Heavyweight Digital. I was then trusted to put my theoretical knowledge into practise within my role which allowed me to showcase my skillset. This has led to me securing a full time job at Heavyweight Digital as a Junior Digital Marketer.
Olivia Pasfield - Digital Marketing Apprentice
Heavyweight Digital
How has your apprenticeship impacted your personal and professional growth?
My apprenticeship has aided my confidence within my job role which has enabled me to be secure in my decisions and the work that I produce. This has led to me being able to confidently create and optimise marketing campaigns for my own clients on various platforms with minimal supervision.
Olivia Pasfield - Digital Marketing Apprentice
Heavyweight Digital
What advice would you give to someone considering an apprenticeship?
An apprenticeship is an extremely useful gateway into the career that you would like. It allows you to expand your knowledge and abilities within a short space of time, whilst giving you room to grow within your company.
Olivia Pasfield - Digital Marketing Apprentice
Heavyweight Digital
How has Heavyweight Digital supported you in achieving your career goals during and after your apprenticeship?
Heavyweight Digital has aided my progression through training videos and programmes which have allowed me to increase my digital marketing abilities and become a confident team member. Moreover, I have been allowed space to grow within the company whilst having a support system where needed. After my apprenticeship, I was awarded the position of Junior Digital Marketer and I am now working towards an executive position within the company.
