Andrew Mitch-Holmes is a Level 3 Multi-Channel Marketer Apprentice at Royal Star and Garter, studying with Professional Academy. In this piece, he shares his experience of the apprenticeship and what it has meant for his career and personal development.
Royal Star and Garter is a charity that provides specialist care and support to veterans and their partners. The charity invests meaningfully in its staff, currently training apprentices across a range of disciplines including Business Administration, Leadership and Management, Coaching, Data Analysis, Project Management, and Digital Marketing. Andrew is one of those apprentices — and to mark National Apprenticeship Week 2024, he shares how his apprenticeship at Royal Star and Garter is giving him the motivation to succeed and what it means to be part of the team.
Why I Chose an Apprenticeship in Digital Marketing
I have always been interested in marketing. At school I chose Business as a GCSE option, and at college I studied Business Management and Marketing. When I saw a job advert from Royal Star and Garter for a Digital Marketing Officer role, and discovered it was linked to an apprenticeship, I was immediately interested.
I had heard of Royal Star and Garter before but had not looked into it in great detail. When I researched the charity and saw the strength of its military links, it resonated with me — my family has a strong military background. I was also drawn to the marketing side of the role, and particularly to digital marketing. I had not considered a traditional marketing route, so I thought this would be an excellent combination of doing work I was genuinely interested in, within an organisation I felt aligned to. It has now been over seven months since I started, and I genuinely love it.
What My Role Involves Day to Day
My typical day involves searching our platforms for social media content, or creating our own social media content. This means I regularly see photos and videos of residents, and I feel I know them even though I may not have met them all in person. Other responsibilities include uploading vacancies to our website and supporting Google Analytics reporting.
Wednesday is my apprenticeship day, when I focus on assignments and — when I am up to date with my work — use my off-the-job training time to develop my broader understanding of my role and the discipline of digital marketing.
What the Apprenticeship Has Taught Me
I am studying a Level 3 Digital Marketers apprenticeship through Professional Academy, and I genuinely enjoy it. It is an 18-month course that covers a wide range of skills relevant to digital marketing — many of which are closely aligned with what I studied at university. The workshops are a particular highlight, where I get to speak to practitioners who share their knowledge and relate what they teach directly to real workplace situations. I find that genuinely valuable.
The apprenticeship has made a real difference to how I approach my work. There are aspects of my role that I would not have the same level of confidence in without the structured learning the apprenticeship provides. It fills genuine knowledge gaps, reinforces my practical skills, and gives me the additional motivation to keep developing — knowing that my learning is leading somewhere recognised and credible.
Looking Ahead
I aim to complete my apprenticeship by the end of 2024 and, looking further ahead, I would like to follow in the footsteps of my family and pursue Chartered Marketer status. Beyond the professional ambitions, there is something personal about this role that matters deeply to me. What I love most about working at Royal Star and Garter is spending time with the residents — getting to know them, hearing their stories, and being part of an environment where care and compassion are genuinely at the centre of everything.
What I Would Say to Anyone Considering an Apprenticeship
I would always recommend an apprenticeship. Boosting your knowledge is never a bad thing. The combination of working in a role you care about and gaining a recognised qualification at the same time is genuinely powerful — and the support I have received, both from Royal Star and Garter and from Professional Academy, has made the experience something I am proud to be part of.
Royal Star and Garter is an organisation that genuinely believes in investing in its people. They invest in you, and that makes all the difference.
If you are interested in an apprenticeship opportunity at Royal Star and Garter, please visit the Royal Star and Garter website for more information. You can also donate to Royal Star and Garter to support the specialist care they provide to veterans.
How Professional Academy Supports Your Journey
At Professional Academy, we deliver the Level 3 Multi-Channel Marketer Apprenticeship and a range of other programmes designed to give individuals the skills, qualifications, and confidence to build outstanding careers. Andrew's story is one example of the difference an apprenticeship can make — combining real workplace experience with structured, recognised professional development.
To find out more about our apprenticeship programmes and which might be right for you or your organisation, get in touch with our team today.
