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Apprenti RFP: https://apprenticareers.org/rfp-public-relations-services/

How would you rank the audiences listed (funders, employers, government agencies, ecosystem audiences) in terms of priority for the communications effort?

1. Employers — Our primary growth driver; placing 2,000 apprentices in 2026 and scaling to 5,000 by 2030 requires 50+ enterprise-level hiring partners annually. Employer-facing earned media directly supports business development.
2. Funders — PR that demonstrates impact and credibility is directly tied to our fundraising pipeline. Visibility in the right outlets builds trust with philanthropic and grant-making audiences.
3. Government agencies — Policy alignment and government partnerships are essential to scaling Registered Apprenticeship nationally; thought leadership in workforce policy spaces matters here.
4. Ecosystem audiences (CBOs, workforce orgs, channel market partners) — Important for expanding reach and referrals, but secondary to the above.

The RFP did not list career seekers as an audience. Is there a desire for any strategies/tactics/campaigns that specifically reach this group?

Career seekers are an important audience for Apprenti, and we have an existing candidate pool who have passed the assessment and are awaiting placement. For PR purposes, however, earned media focused on career seeker stories (success stories, testimonials) serves a dual purpose — it humanizes our brand for employer and funder audiences while also organically reaching prospective candidates. The PR partner would not be primarily responsible for candidate recruitment campaigns, but compelling apprentice stories will be a key media asset.

What is the size and makeup of the internal marketing team? What qualities would support "seamless integration"?

The Marketing & Communications Team supports Apprenti across several functions: project leadership and management, content and collateral creation, social media, events, PR facilitation, and business development support. The team is lean but cross-functional. An ideal PR partner would be proactive and self-directed, integrate smoothly with notion project management workflows, communicate consistently, and align pitching activity with our quarterly marketing themes and campaigns without requiring heavy hand-holding on Apprenti's internal context.

Are there any major campaigns planned for this year that would be priorities for the communications effort?

The PR partner should be ready to align with our editorial calendar and support momentum around 2026 marketing efforts.

Do you intend for the firm to support with any social media activities?

Our internal team manages day-to-day social media. We would welcome strategic counsel from the PR partner on aligning earned media moments with social amplification, and coordination on LinkedIn specifically — but we are not looking for the PR firm to manage social channels directly.