Customs & Business Development Apprentice

Summary

This is an exciting opportunity for someone looking to build a career in business development, customer engagement and international trade.

Wage

£15,600 to £24,784.50, depending on your age

National Minimum Wage

Training course

Sales executive (level 4)

Hours

Daily working hours: Monday - Friday, 8.30am - 5.00pm, with 1 hour lunch break.

37 hours 30 minutes a week

Start date

Monday 2 November 2026

Duration

1 year 6 months

Positions available

1

Work

Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.

What you'll do at work

As a Customs & Business Development Apprentice, you will play a key role in helping us identify new business opportunities, engage with potential customers, and support our marketing activities. You'll spend most of your time developing commercial skills such as lead generation and relationship building, while also gaining valuable exposure to customs and logistics operations.

This role would suit someone who enjoys communicating with people, wants to learn about business growth, and is motivated to develop a long-term career within a professional environment.

Key Responsibilities

Business Development

• Contact prospective customers through outbound calls and follow-up activity.
• Research and identify new business opportunities.
• Generate and qualify leads for the business.
• Build relationships with potential and existing customers.
• Support customer enquiries and maintain regular communication.
• Update customer records and interactions within the company CRM system.
• Assist with sales campaigns and business growth initiatives.

Marketing & Social Media

• Support the creation of content for social media platforms.
  Assist with marketing campaigns aimed at generating new business enquiries.
• Promote company services across digital channels.
• Monitor engagement and contribute ideas to increase brand awareness.

Customs & Administration

• Gain an understanding of customs clearance processes and international trade.
• Support the team with customs entries and associated documentation.
• Assist with maintaining accurate customer and operational records.
• Provide administrative support to the wider team as required.
• Ensure information and documentation is processed accurately and efficiently.

What We're Looking For

We're looking for someone who is:

• Confident and comfortable speaking with people.
• Eager to learn and develop new skills.
• Organised and able to manage multiple tasks.
• Motivated, reliable and proactive.
• A good communicator, both verbally and in writing.
  Comfortable using Microsoft Office applications.
• Interested in business, customer relationships, logistics or international trade.
• No previous experience is required as full training will be provided.

What You'll Gain

• A Level 4 Sales Executive Apprenticeship qualification.
• Hands-on experience in business development and customer engagement.
• Training in lead generation, relationship management and commercial awareness.
• Exposure to customs clearance and international trade processes.
• Ongoing support and mentoring from experienced professionals.
• The opportunity to develop a long-term career within a growing business.

Where you'll work

Unit E 4 Business Innovation Centre
Sunderland
SR5 2TP

Training

Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.

Training provider

ZENITH TRAINING LIMITED

Training course

Sales executive (level 4)

What you'll learn

• Sales planning and preparation: Set effective targets using sales forecasts. Prioritise customers and activities to grow account value and maximise return-on-investment in line with your organisation’s strategy. Formulate or refine customer plans and objectives. Create efficient territory plans where appropriate.
• Customer engagement: Effectively communicate and interpret customer information exchanged through written, verbal and non-verbal communication. Develop a customer engagement style that effectively opens sales conversations, builds rapport, enhances customer relationships, and adapts to different customer’s social preferences.
• Customer needs analysis: Be highly skilled at effective questioning and active listening techniques to understand the customer’s needs, guide the sales conversation appropriately, create mutual understanding, and build trust and affinity with customers.
• Propose and present solutions: Develop sales proposals and deliver them using a presentation style and technique appropriate for your customer. Present relevant products and/or services, explain features and their advantages, and clearly articulate the value and benefit of the solution for the specific customer. Use and adapt a range of techniques to draw-out and overcome common sales objections.
• Negotiate: Research the customer’s likely desired outcomes and negotiating stance. Develop responses to likely objections. Identify your own organisation’s needs, such as minimum price and acceptable terms. Negotiate or trade variables effectively.
• Closing Sales: Be attuned to verbal and non-verbal buying-signals andmove to close at an appropriate point in sales conversations. Develop ethical techniques to close sales and confirm customers’ purchase agreement.
• Gathering Intelligence: Collect, analyse and interpret market intelligence and share it appropriately and effectively within your organisation.
• Time Management: Use and adapt appropriate tools and techniques to prioritise and manage your time effectively.
• Collaboration and team work: Contribute effectively within a team environment. Work collaboratively with both internal and external stakeholders. Manage communications with the cross-functional team in relation to the effective delivery of your sales, such as finance and service delivery. Support continual business improvement by sharing best practice with sales team colleagues and assist the marketing team to develop new marketing collateral.
• Customer experience management: Deliver a positive customer experience. Manage customer enquiries and issues effectively. Take proactive action to prevent and minimise customer concerns and complaints. Handle all customer interactions professionally to the customer’s satisfaction.
• Digital skills: Effectively use digital tools to conduct research and target customers in line with the overall sales strategy. Able to deliver presentations and meetings using digital communication. Complete accurate records and process sales in accordance with your organisation’s policies, procedures and digital CRM systems.

Training schedule

Unit E4, Business & Innovation Centre,
Sunderland, Tyne and Wear. SR5 2TP.

Requirements

Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.

Skills

• Communication skills
• IT skills
• Organisation skills
• Administrative skills
• Initiative