Commercial Manager - Apprenticeships & Skills Aston, Birmingham (based at Make UK's Apprentices & Skills Training Centre, with some regional/national travel) Permanent Competitive salaries and excellent benefits including up to one day's paid leave each year to undertake volunteering opportunities About Make UK At Make UK, we champion and celebrate British manufacturing and engineering. We support over 20,000 businesses across the UK, helping them to innovate, compete, and grow. As part of our continued commitment to developing the next generation of talent, we deliver high-quality Apprenticeships and Skills Training that shape the future of the manufacturing workforce. About the role We're looking for a commercially driven and strategic leader to join Make UK as our next Commercial Manager for Apprenticeships & Skills. This is a pivotal role with overall responsibility for delivering a high-impact commercial strategy, ensuring Make UK remains the provider of choice for industrial apprenticeships and a leading training centre for technical upskilling. You'll lead business development activity, shape innovative training solutions, and work collaboratively across the organisation to drive growth, performance, and customer satisfaction. Developing and delivering a forward-thinking commercial strategy aligned to market needs Leading and managing the Business Development team to achieve sales, recruitment, and delivery targets Identifying opportunities to create and launch new apprenticeship and skills offerings Working closely with Sales and Marketing to design and execute effective campaigns and go-to-market strategies Building strong relationships with clients, stakeholders, and internal teams to support solution-led selling Overseeing onboarding and delivery to ensure an excellent customer experience and full compliance Monitoring performance, analysing market trends, and reporting on progress and opportunities Representing the function at senior level, including presenting to the Executive team What we're looking for Experience & knowledge Proven commercial success, ideally within the Apprenticeships & Skills or training sector Strong understanding of market trends, competitor landscape, and customer needs Experience within engineering, manufacturing, or a related sector Knowledge of government training programmes and funding Skills & capabilities Strategic thinker with the ability to turn insight into action Strong sales and commercial acumen with a track record of delivering growth Inspiring leader who can motivate, develop, and lead high-performing teams Excellent stakeholder management and relationship-building skills Confident communicator with strong influencing and negotiation ability Personal qualities Professional, credible, and values-driven Collaborative and consultative in approach Proactive, resilient, and solutions-focused Committed to equality, diversity, and safeguarding With over 125 years of experience, Make UK is a leading provider of essential business support and a champion for manufacturing industry in the UK. Make UK has the close ear of Government and is a trusted provider of essential services for world leading manufacturing companies across the country. Everything we do is designed to inspire British manufacturers to compete, innovate and grow. Make UK staff enjoy a good benefits package and values a diverse workforce and welcomes applications from all sections of the community. Benefits to include, but not limited to: Free parking, meal service on site, no bank holiday/weekend work, flexible hours, health cover, matched pension contributions up to 8%, and life assurance. We are committed to supporting the Armed Forces Community and we recognise the contribution that Service personnel, both regular and reservist, veterans and military families make to our organisation and have pledged to support this by signing up to the Armed Forces Covenant. Our Values at Make UK: Inclusivity & Diversity, Integrity, Innovation, & Collaboration SAFEGUARDING INFORMATION This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. It is therefore a mandatory requirement that the successful candidate agrees to an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references. Individuals barred from working in this sector are reminded it is a criminal offence to submit an application.