Attracting apprentices to Aptus
Campaign: Creating a website with youth appeal
The Brief
Increase apprenticeship applications by creating a website that ‘talks to’ young people and positions Aptus as a great place to work
New sub-brand created
Improved UX
Copy, design and build
84% increase in page views year-on-year
Aptus is a fast growing company that designs, builds and installs gas, water, electricity and street lighting for housing developers and construction clients across the UK.
Faced with a recruitment crisis in the sector, a few years ago Aptus decided to nurture its own talent by creating its own apprenticeship scheme. Although this has won several awards, the company felt it wasn’t attracting enough numbers of apprentices to support its rapid growth.
Before doing anything, we researched other companies using their websites to attract apprentices. We also spoke with several people who had completed apprenticeships – some with Aptus, some at other companies – to find out what information they really wanted to see on a site.
Armed with these hugely valuable insights, we drafted the copy, taking care to keep the tone friendly, informative and engaging. Copy approved, our designers set to work creating a vibrant and highly stylised visual that tipped its hat to the Aptus corporate brand but was also significantly different in order to appeal to a predominantly youthful audience.
Keen to ensure the site remained authentic in order to appeal to prospective candidates, we featured genuine Aptus apprentices throughout.
Design signed-off, it was over to our developers to build the site. Given the huge amount of information on the page, we were at pains to make the site really easy to navigate.
Websites are like plants and must be watered regularly to keep them fresh and relevant. With this in mind, the site is regularly updated with new content.
The dedicated apprentice sub-domain has attracted 84% more views than the previous page that Aptus used to promote its apprenticeships.
Crucially, the site has also attracted more applications than previous years.
“Within hours of the site going live, we received so many positive comments about it. As well as being striking to look at, it’s easy to navigate. RMS gave a lot of thought to the content which has a friendly tone and anticipates all the questions and concerns someone considering an apprenticeship with us might have.”
