Apprentice-winning Climb Online launches online academy to tackle digital skills gap

Startups 100-featured Climb Online, the digital marketing agency founded by Apprentice-winner and Young Gun Mark Wright, has launched an online training resource to help close the UK’s growing digital skills gap.

Climb Academy gives both learners and professionals the chance to improve their skills in search engine optimisation (SEO), pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, and social media management. Candidates who complete the courses are able to access marketing roles at a business or agency

Launched in January 2015, Climb Online is a digital marketing agency that provides clients with services in paid media, digital branding, SEO, data analysis and social media. It has offices in London, Essex, Manchester, and Bristol – launched after Wright read Startups.co.uk’s Start-up Cities Guide on why Bristol is the UK’s top city to start a business.

Its 400-strong client base includes the likes of Groupon, Be Wiser Insurance, Imagine Cruising, CV Library, Dickies, and Tropic.

In September 2017, Mark Wright told Startups.co.uk why he is “the most successful Apprentice winner there’s ever been”, after Climb Online surpassed £4m in turnover in January 2017. By December 2018, the agency is expecting to hit £7.5m.

Wright commented: “I can’t believe Climb Online is already three years old. The business has exceeded all my expectations, and our hard work continues to pay off. I love coming into work each day, watching my team develop and helping our clients achieve their growth objectives.

“If the last few years are anything to go by, we are building a business that is going to do great things in both the UK and overseas – whilst helping other aspiring professionals succeed within the digital marketing sector through the new Climb Academy.”

Lord Sugar added: “It’s been a brilliant three years for Climb Online. […] 2018 is set to be another excellent year with the launch of the Climb Academy, enabling us to support wider skills development, whilst providing us with an additional revenue stream.”