who we help - sectors

Marketing Support for the Education & Training Sector

Helping education and training providers grow enrolment, strengthen credibility, and expand their impact.

The Marketing Landscape in Education & Training

Whether you’re a university, private training provider, apprenticeship scheme, or online learning platform, your audience has changed. Learners expect digital-first experiences. Funders and employers demand proof of outcomes. And the competition — both traditional and disruptive — has intensified.

Challenges you might face:

  • Many providers rely on outdated messaging or institutional inertia
  • Marketing teams are lean, siloed, or service-led rather than outcome-driven
  • Buyer journeys vary widely: parents, learners, employers, funders — all need distinct messaging
  • Outcomes and employability metrics are increasingly under scrutiny

What Education Providers Are Trying to Achieve

At the same time, education providers are under pressure to:

Increase enrolments through smarter demand generation
Build trust through consistent, impact-led messaging
Expand into corporate training or adult learning markets
Align marketing to student experience, employability, and learner outcomes
Modernise internal teams and digital touchpoints

free online audit

Marketing Capability Assessment for Education Providers

Take our free online audit to assess your marketing performance across six core capabilities using our proprietary 'BANKSE' framework. It takes just 5-minutes.

What you'll get:

Instant marketing capability score
Personalised report sent to your inbox
Clarity on which marketing areas to prioritise
Complimentary consultation with our experts to discuss your results

marketing  solutions

How We Help Education & Training Clients

We help education and training providers attract, engage, and retain learners — modernising marketing, sharpening enrolment strategies, and aligning teams to deliver credibility, measurable outcomes, and sustainable growth in competitive markets.

Featured services:

Fractional CMO

Embed leadership to modernise marketing, sharpen enrolment strategy, and unify internal silos.

Marketing Advisory

Input on positioning, channel mix, and learner journey mapping — from awareness to alumni.

Market Analysis

Understand shifting learner needs, employer expectations, and the competitive training landscape.

Meet Our Education Marketing Expert

Rachael has:

  • Created a strategic plan for a national training provider to improve their marketing & BD effectiveness.
  • Led campaigns for an academic publisher
  • Provided team workshops and mentoring for an award-winning sales training business.
"A critical success factor to customers getting tangible value in this sector is making sure that the learning is applied in real life. Good marketing ensures that happens."

Rachael Wheatley - Chartered Fractional CMO, VCMO

Our project was to create a top-level marketing strategy which, once built, we could drive forward ourselves. And I can honestly say the work has been transformational for Yellowtail. After each workshop with VCMO, both Dennis Hall and I would be amazed at how much we'd achieved. We worked hard! But the results are worth it.

Sarah Steele
Operations Director, Yellowtail Financial Planning
Read the Case Study

Shout out to Paul Mills who bravely took on running a positioning workshop with us yesterday. Is there anything harder than doing the thing your client does for others for them?! Great work. Really thought provoking, and so important to have facilitated by someone with an external perspective!

Bryony Thomas
CEO, watertight business thinking

Paul is a professional strategic marketeer who is able to apply his expertise with marketing budgets large and small. The commercial impact of Shaw & Co's rebrand, which was initiated, designed and implemented by Paul, has been to differentiate us positively in a sector where few have succeeded. He delivers what he promises, on time and on/under budget, to a high quality. Paul made a positive impact on our business that will last.

Rod Leefe
chair, shaw & co

VCMO's audit brought clarity to a complex set of challenges. They cut through the noise and delivered a clear, prioritised roadmap that we could act on immediately. Their ability to engage across teams and translate insight into action was exactly what we needed.

Dr. Ross Burn
Co-founder, Catsci limited  
Read the Case Study

Lydia possesses a deep understanding of marketing strategies and has consistently delivered exceptional results. Her ability to analyse market trends, create engaging campaigns, and drive customer acquisition is truly impressive. Her dedication, attention to detail, and strong communication skills make her an invaluable asset to any organisation. I cannot recommend Lydia enough for her expertise, professionalism, and exceptional work ethic.

Alan Leckey
Business Consultant, CCO - the Collaboration Company  

Paul Mills wasn't just an outsourced marketing leader — he was a mentor. His support helped me enhance my technical marketing skills and shape a more strategic mindset, as well as build my  confidence with senior leadership and deliver higher-impact work. He is dependable and skillful, and his guidance has made me feel more capable and prepared for future challenges.

Caitlin Daniels
marketing manager, catsci limited
Read the Case Study

VCMO brings knowledge, insight and practical experience to the table, but also something else, which is quite rare, the unwavering commitment to finishing the job without compromising on the quality of the output. Their work for Yellowtail has been exemplary and we're seeing the results already.

Dennis Hall
founder, yellowtail financial planning

Ruth brought great experience and insight to my firm over many years. Her considered and thoughtful approach to problem solving are a real strength and her experience of marketing and business development in the legal sector was invaluable.

Gavin Tyler
Managing Partner, Cripps

VCMO helped us think beyond our capabilities and reframe how we communicate the true value of what we do. Paul's workshop unlocked fresh ideas resulting in a more strategic approach to our content plan and go-to-market materials. The quality of the output and power of the messaging is really impressive.

Peter Ridgway
Business Development Director, Reach Separations
Read the Case Study

VCMO has been instrumental in reshaping how we approach marketing at Lucent. Their strategic clarity, attention to detail, and ability to deliver at pace have been exceptional. Paul's embedded himself seamlessly into the team and quickly earned trust — not just from me, but from our wider staff and partners. The website and content strategy he led have already started delivering results, and I now feel far more confident in how we grow the business over the coming years.

Steven Rowe
Founder - Lucent Financial Planning
Read the Case Study

VCMO helped me find the words and structure to communicate what I do — and who I do it for — in a way that finally connects. I’ve had more inbound enquiries since the website relaunch than in the previous two years.

Lee Spencer
aka The rowing marine
Read the Case Study

Ready to enrol smarter, communicate better, and scale faster? Let’s build a marketing strategy that supports your students, stakeholders, and success metrics.

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Fractional Edge is our montly newsletter sharing expert opinion on the latest trends in fractional leadership, curated marketing content from leading sources, VCMO events, and much more. Subscribing is quick — just add your name and email.