The Apprentice Store:
supporting rural IT development

David Massey wasn’t always on track to work in web development. After growing up in Northumberland, he joined the RAF as a Flight Systems Technician and wound up in the Scottish Highlands. Thirty-seven years later, he may have left the RAF, but he stayed put in Scotland, swapping missiles for Macbooks and founding The Apprentice Store in 2016.

Nowadays, he and his expert team offer comprehensive website building, hosting, and maintenance to businesses across the UK while simultaneously upskilling the local community with IT apprenticeships.

As a small but experienced team, they provide their customers with hands-on support every step of the way. Unlike agencies that focus solely on web development, The Apprentice Store goes the extra mile to manage the websites they build for quality and security, giving their customers the ultimate peace of mind. This is why they were such a good fit for Fasthosts client Jago & Jago when they needed a new website. And our Partner Network was able to connect them instantly.

It was an obvious choice, said David. The service and quality are there, and we've since had a number of referrals from them

Fostering connections between partners

Before they became a trusted partner, The Apprentice Store were a loyal Fasthosts customer. But as they started to move development in-house and our services became less relevant to them, they were still keen to make the most of our network through our Partner Programme.

It was an obvious choice, said David, The service and quality are there, and we've since had a number of referrals from them, including Jago & Jago, a Kent-based real estate agency needing help fixing a broken website that was impacting their customer journey.

From a website build to an ongoing relationship

We received an initial call from Jago & Jago, David continued. When the family-run team reached out, they informed David about the issues they were having with their website not updating efficiently and new listings being unavailable. Obviously, this was extremely frustrating for customers and had a detrimental impact on Jago & Jago's ability to make sales.

Luckily, The Apprentice Store was able to deliver a permanent fix.

After four iterations, we were able to build, host, and manage their new website for them, David told us. But the professional relationship didn't end there. Following their original connection, Jago & Jago enlisted David's team to help look after emails, IT support, and provide a comprehensive security service. All of that happened thanks to Fasthosts.

So far, we've helped 23 people get into the IT sector, with three apprenticeships currently active

Supporting the Highlands IT community

The partnership between The Apprentice Store and Jago & Jago goes beyond simply boosting the revenue for two deserving companies. They're also helping to provide opportunities for young IT professionals in the Highlands, who otherwise might not have been able to access them.

So far, we've helped 23 people get into the IT sector, with three apprenticeships currently active, David said.

But these achievements haven't been made alone. The Apprentice Store recognises the referrals they've received from partners through the Supporters' Awards. Once a company has helped support a week's worth of an apprenticeship salary, they receive a certificate. And if they've made an even bigger impact, they can expect to be honoured with a glass paperweight, which we're proud to have earned at Fasthosts!

Become an official Partner today

Whether you’re a loyal customer like The Apprentice Store or a Fasthosts newbie, you could be eligible to join our Partner Programme. Our partners get access to exclusive discounts and customer referral schemes, powerful customer management tools, and the ability to promote their business services on the Partner Network.

Head to our website to find out how you can become a Partner and start making valuable connections today.