Building Futures Together: Blueberry Helps College Reach New Heights of Success

Our client is the UK’s only specialist further education college dedicated entirely to construction and the built environment. With a rich heritage dating back to the 1960s, the college has become a national leader in vocational and technical education. Offering more than 200 courses, from entry-level to degree-level qualifications (Level 6), the college works with industry experts to ensure its training meets the demands of the construction sector. As one of the country’s largest apprenticeship providers, the college collaborates with over 800 employers to give around 2,800 apprentices invaluable hands-on industry experience.

What They Needed

The specialist college approached us with a clear goal: to boost awareness and interest in their upcoming January 2025 apprenticeship intake, focusing on six key areas:

• Gas
• Low Carbon Heating Technician
• Plastering
• Wall & Floor Tiling
• Electrical
• Painting & Decorating

We took a conversational and customer-centric approach to connect with businesses, identify decision-makers and understand their unique skills needs. Our team introduced the college’s offerings, focussed on practical solutions and guided them toward relevant business support. We also and secured appointments with prospects, whether over the phone or face-to-face. With extensive experience in systems like the Digital Apprenticeships Service (DAS), we were able to address businesses’ concerns, such as paperwork challenges in the construction sector.

This outreach was crucial for the college to connect with businesses looking to recruit or upskill their workforce. The college had made some recent changes, including a smoother apprenticeship application system and better customer relationship management. While these improvements were being introduced, it was sometimes tricky to consistently stay connected with customers. Thus, it was important for our client to ensure existing customers felt valued while attracting new ones. They sought to enhance coverage, reassure businesses about the college’s commitment to minimise disruptions and re-engage with those who may have lapsed. They also wanted to familiarise themselves with potential regional firms to promote their offerings.

Key objectives included:

• Re-engaging with customers who had fallen off the radar
• Engaging with new businesses

The college was also eager to promote its recent £750k campus refurbishment to local businesses. The impressive investment created state-of-the-art resources and contemporary facilities for construction students. The new facilities gave students a fitting learning environment to enhance their skills and employability in the building and construction sector.

What We Achieved

We delved into the college’s needs and profiled its target database, focusing on businesses that aligned with their apprenticeship priorities for the New Year. We helped them to understand what businesses were most relevant to them and available. Our team reviewed businesses within a 20-mile radius of the college – this proximity would make it easier for apprentices to commute and for the college to maintain close relations with businesses.

We enhanced the college’s existing data and added our GDPR company data and built-in rich information over the phone. Data included decision-maker contact details, apprenticeship areas of interest, and wider skills needs. Armed with these insights, we helped signpost businesses to relevant courses and connect them with the college’s internal team.

We secured 176 high-value appointments for the college’s team by identifying and engaging with key business decision-makers who showed a strong interest in apprenticeships and additional skills support. This allowed us to discuss tailored skills solutions with these businesses, creating a solid foundation for further engagement.

Here is the breakdown of our call outcomes:

• 64 appointments for businesses interested in apprenticeships
• 62 appointments for wider skills support (e.g., Continuing Professional Development *CPD, short courses, internships etc.)
• 50 appointments for both apprenticeships and additional services

In total, an impressive 75 per cent of decision-maker conversations moved down the sales funnel, including a medium-longer term opportunity pipeline of prospects primed for recontact that our client can utilise for future marketing activities.

This exceptional conversion rate represented a significant step towards the college’s goal of providing the construction industry with a skilled and knowledgeable workforce. By building upon what we had learned from the campaign, we could offer actionable next steps to help sustain the momentum we had built during the activity. This included expanding the target database and focusing on sectors like electrical contractors and businesses requiring Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS)* cards – both areas of proven success. By keeping a steady pipeline of opportunities, our client can continue supporting businesses and individuals across the UK, helping shape a stronger future for the industry.

Next Steps for Success

Out of the 455 decision-makers we engaged, 368 were found to be relevant, with 176 (47.83%) proceeding to arrange meetings. A further 101 businesses (27.45%) were identified as warm leads, including 73 short-term and 28 longer-term opportunities. We recommend nurturing these leads to maintain their engagement, as they represent potential future partnerships.

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*Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) cards prove that individuals working on construction sites have the right training and qualifications for the job. Thus, they help improve standards and safety in UK construction.
*Continuous professional development (CPD) is an ongoing and planned learning and development process. It describes any learning you undertake that increases your knowledge, understanding and experiences of a subject area or role.

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