Responsible for the marketing activities and strategy of their organisation.
Apprentices develop the skills to lead marketing strategy and manage day-to-day marketing operations across an organisation. Core areas include campaign planning and implementation, budget management, brand governance, market research, and measuring return on investment. Apprentices also build team leadership skills, learning how to direct and develop junior marketers. The programme develops both strategic thinking and practical execution, covering channel selection, audience targeting, and how to align marketing activity to broader business objectives.
A typical week might involve briefing a creative agency, reviewing campaign performance data, and presenting results to senior stakeholders. Apprentices will manage marketing budgets, oversee content across digital and traditional channels, and coordinate with colleagues in sales, product, and communications teams. They will write or review briefs, interpret customer insight, and adjust campaign plans based on what the data shows. Reporting upwards to a director is a regular part of the role, as is line-managing junior team members.
Completing this apprenticeship is a natural fit for progression into Senior Marketing Manager, Head of Marketing, or specialist roles such as Brand Manager, Comms Lead, or Insight Manager. Employers span virtually every sector, from retail and financial services to public sector organisations, charities, and agencies. The level 6 qualification positions completers for roles that carry real budget responsibility and team leadership, and can serve as a stepping stone toward director-level positions for those with the right experience behind them.
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Completers typically step into, or consolidate their position in, roles such as Marketing Manager, Marketing and Communications Manager, and Corporate Communications Manager. Others move into proposition-focused positions like Product Manager or Proposition Manager, or take on insight and innovation responsibilities as an Insight Manager. Many completers are already working in a junior version of these roles during the apprenticeship and use completion to formalise their authority and accountability within the team.
At the three to five year mark, progression commonly leads to Senior Marketing Manager or Head of Marketing, with responsibility for larger budgets, broader teams, and closer involvement in business strategy. From there, two tracks tend to open up: a leadership route toward Marketing Director or Chief Marketing Officer, and a specialist route focused on areas such as brand strategy, customer insight, or digital performance. The specialist track suits those who prefer depth over breadth.
Marketing Managers work across almost every sector of the UK economy. Significant demand comes from retail, financial services, technology, healthcare, property, and professional services. Roles exist in agencies that manage campaigns on behalf of clients, as well as in in-house teams at businesses of all sizes, from regional SMEs to large national organisations. The public sector, including local government, NHS trusts, and higher education institutions, also employs marketing professionals in this capacity.
Throughout the programme, learning takes place alongside employment, meaning the apprentice applies new knowledge and skills directly within their marketing role. Before final assessment, a readiness check, commonly called the gateway, confirms the apprentice has met the required standard of knowledge, skills and behaviours. Final assessment then determines whether they can competently fulfil the responsibilities of a Marketing Manager, covering areas such as strategy, campaign planning, budget management, brand oversight and team leadership. Assessment models for many Level 6 standards are currently being updated, so check the standard's gov.uk page for the current specification.
Gathering evidence steadily throughout the programme is far more manageable than trying to reconstruct it near the end. Apprentices should keep records of real projects, such as campaign plans, budget reports and strategic recommendations, as work progresses. Regular reviews with both the employer and training provider help track progress against the knowledge, skills and behaviours required for the role, and make the gateway readiness check more straightforward. Talking openly with the training provider early on about what good evidence looks like will save time later.
Look for providers with an achievement rate above 65% on their FATP profile, and check whether employer and apprentice satisfaction scores are both published, not just one or the other. For a Level 6 marketing qualification, the curriculum should explicitly cover brand strategy, budget management and campaign measurement, not just channel tactics. Strong providers will have tutors or coaches with recent industry experience, ideally including client-side or agency management roles. Check that off-the-job learning engages with current platforms and analytics tools, and that the programme includes genuine exposure to strategic decision-making, not just execution tasks.
Be cautious of providers who cannot tell you how many apprentices are completing this specific standard, or who bundle it with lower-level marketing programmes in a way that suggests thin dedicated resource. An achievement rate below 60%, or one that has declined year on year, warrants direct questions. If a provider cannot point to alumni working in marketing manager or equivalent senior roles, that matters at Level 6. Vague answers about how coaching sessions are structured, or tutors whose experience stops at digital content rather than strategic marketing, are worth probing.
There are no nationally mandated entry requirements set by the standard, so employers can set their own criteria. In practice, most candidates will already have some marketing experience, often from a junior or executive-level role, and may hold a relevant qualification. Apprentices must be employed in a genuine marketing manager role for the duration of the programme. English and maths at Level 2 are required before the end-point assessment if not already held.
The typical duration is around 24 months, though this can vary depending on prior experience and the employer's delivery model. The apprentice remains employed throughout and learns on the job. A portion of working hours must be dedicated to off-the-job training, though the exact requirement is subject to ongoing reform under Skills England. Check the current funding rules on gov.uk for the up-to-date figure before planning your programme.
Before assessment, the apprentice must pass through a gateway, a point at which the employer and training provider confirm the apprentice has developed the knowledge, skills and behaviours required by the standard. Assessment models for many Level 6 standards are currently being reviewed as part of wider reforms, so the specific components may change. Visit the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education page for standard ST0348 on gov.uk to confirm the current end-point assessment arrangements.
The funding band for this standard is £9,000, which is the maximum government contribution toward training costs. Levy-paying employers draw this from their digital apprenticeship service account. Smaller employers who do not pay the levy co-invest with government, typically contributing 5% of the training cost, with government funding the rest. Employers taking on apprentices aged 16 to 18 may pay nothing at all, subject to eligibility. Wage costs are separate and remain the employer's responsibility throughout.
The role centres on planning and running marketing campaigns, managing budgets, briefing and overseeing external agencies, and reporting campaign performance to senior leadership. Day-to-day tasks typically include analysing market data, developing messaging for different channels, maintaining brand consistency, and managing a small team of marketing executives or assistants. Because the apprentice is employed in a real management position, the work is substantive rather than observational, which is what distinguishes this from a junior-level programme.
Completing a Level 6 apprenticeship is equivalent to a bachelor's degree, so it opens routes into senior marketing roles such as Head of Marketing or Marketing Director. Some graduates choose to pursue Chartered Marketer status through the Chartered Institute of Marketing, or go on to a postgraduate qualification such as a Level 7 apprenticeship in senior leadership or strategic management. The qualification also provides a strong foundation for moving into broader commercial or general management roles.
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Curated by Alex Lockey, FATP founder and editor. Last reviewed: .
Sources include the apprenticeship's official specification on apprenticeships.gov.uk, Skills England guidance, IfATE archive records, DWP funding bands, and provider data sourced directly from the public Apprenticeship Provider and Assessment Register (APAR). Standard reference: 348.
Some sections on this page were drafted with AI assistance from published source data and reviewed by a human editor before publication. See our editorial methodology for how we maintain this content. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.