Turning marketing theory into a management role

When Alexandra Hewlett was 17, she spent seven months of her final year at sixth form applying for degree apprenticeships. While her classmates worked on personal statements for university applications, Alexandra wanted a route that would let her earn, work and study at the same time.

That decision led her to a successful degree apprenticeship at Southampton Solent University, where she has now completed a BA (Hons) in Digital Marketing, achieving First Class Honours alongside a Distinction in her Level 6 Apprenticeship.

Alexandra, who studied with QA in partnership with Solent, began her apprenticeship at 18. She started at a company in Bath before moving with the role to Shine, a childcare and sports coaching business in Bristol, where she has progressed from Sales and Marketing Assistant to Digital Manager.

"You're thrown into the deep end with your actual role," Alexandra says, but as her studies progressed, she found the theory increasingly relevant to her day-to-day work. She based her dissertation on a live project she was working on with another team at Shine, applying academic analysis to a real business challenge as it unfolded.

"It sort of all came together at the end," she says. "I did my dissertation in real time about a project I was working on with another team in my company."

She also points to tools like SWOT and PESTLE analysis, which she used to bring evidence-based insight into workplace meetings, and Power BI, learned in her second year, which she now uses regularly at work.

Her End Point Assessment stands out as one of her proudest achievements. Working on new analysis for a joint venture business with no precedent to draw on, she achieved a first in her dissertation and a first overall in her degree.

"You need to want to do it for yourself," she says of balancing full-time work with study.

Her advice to anyone starting a degree apprenticeship is to make the most of every opportunity from the start: “Always answer the questions, put your hand up and get involved in discussions in your lectures. And if someone needs help with something, be a helping hand,” she says.

“I found that the connections I made with other people on my course helped me so much when it got to crunch time. I could think, right, who can I turn to? Who knows about this? Who’s in that industry who could help me with that?”

“Don’t be afraid to ask questions and say yes to every opportunity you can over those four years. You’ll come out with so much more than just a degree.”

You can find out more about Solent's career ready approach to apprenticeships or search our course directory for the full range of apprenticeship courses.