Apprentice Sales Support Assistant
FRED. OLSEN CRUISE LINES LIMITED
Ipswich (IP1 5LL)
Closes in 18 days (Wednesday 24 September 2025)
Posted on 5 September 2025
Contents
Summary
This is an exciting opportunity for an Apprentice to join our vibrant sales department and deliver a high-quality support to our Sales Executives whilst building effective relationships and providing a dedicated Customer Service across all areas of the sales department.
- Wage
-
£13,741 to £22,222.20, depending on your age
National Minimum Wage
- Training course
- Customer service practitioner (level 2)
- Hours
-
Monday - Friday 9am - 5pm with a 1-hour lunch break.
35 hours a week
- Start date
-
Monday 6 October 2025
- Duration
-
1 year 3 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 an Apprentice Sales Support Assistant, you’ll play a key role in supporting our Sales Executives, delivering high-quality assistance, and providing outstanding customer service across all areas of the department. This role contributes to the smooth running of sales operations, helping to build strong relationships with trade accounts and ensuring the wider Sales team can focus on achieving and exceeding targets.
Main Tasks include:
- Provide administrative support to Sales and Account Managers across the department
- Assist with the organisation of ship visits and educational programmes
- Coordinate incoming invoices and promotional claims, ensuring correct sign-off and processing
- Help plan and execute sales events, including logistics and promotional needs
- Monitor and update tour operator/reseller websites, addressing discrepancies as needed
- Respond promptly and professionally to trade account queries via the Sales Support inbox
- Manage bookings and cabin allocations for non-allocation tour operators and non-UK resellers
- Administer pre-cruise requirements and booking amendments for Tour Operators and non-UK resellers
- Assist with brochure and promotional distribution in collaboration with Trade Marketing
- Support the planning and coordination of ship visits and educational trips
Full training will be provided to the successful candidate.
Where you'll work
Fred Olsen Limited
Fred Olsen House
42 White House Road
Ipswich
IP1 5LL
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
BLUE SKY ASSESSING & CONSULTANCY LTD
Training course
Customer service practitioner (level 2)
Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)
What you'll learn
Course contents
- Use a range of questioning skills, including listening and responding in a way that builds rapport, determines customer needs and expectations and achieves positive engagement and delivery.
- Depending on your job role and work environment: Use appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication skills, along with summarising language during face-to-face communications; and/or
- Depending on your job role and work environment: Use appropriate communication skills, along with reinforcement techniques (to confirm understanding) during non-facing customer interactions.
- Depending on your job role and work environment: Use an appropriate ‘tone of voice’ in all communications, including written and digital, that reflect the organisation’s brand.
- Provide clear explanations and offer options in order to help customers make choices that are mutually beneficial to both the customer and your organisation.
- Be able to organise yourself, prioritise your own workload/activity and work to meet deadlines.
- Demonstrate patience and calmness.
- Show you understand the customer’s point of view.
- Use appropriate sign-posting or resolution to meet your customers needs and manage expectations.
- Maintain informative communication during service recovery.
Training schedule
This is an apprenticeship; the successful candidate will work towards the Customer Service Practitioner Level 2 qualification which has an estimated course duration of 15-months.
This will be a work-based apprenticeship, therefore there will be no requirement for a day release to college. You will have an allocated assessor from an apprenticeship training provider who will visit you in the workplace and provide 1-2-1 training, support, and guidance throughout the course.
Requirements
Desirable qualifications
GCSE in:
Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.
Skills
- Communication skills
- Attention to detail
- Organisation skills
- Customer care skills
About this employer
At Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, we believe a cruise is different to a holiday. A cruise is about the joy of the journey, as well as the destinations you visit, and exploring the world from the wonderful vantage point of the ship and the sea. We plan our cruises differently. Our team of Journey Planners change our itineraries every year - unlike some other cruise lines who always sail the same routes. We also put as much time into planning scenic cruising on every sailing as we do in choosing the destinations themselves. As a result, we have won Cruise Critic’s award for best itineraries 5 years in a row. Our smaller-sized ships have been elegantly designed and they all look and feel like ships with wide open deck spaces as well as lounges and restaurants which have been meticulously planned to ensure you have a wonderful experience. The smaller size of our ships also allows us access to more interesting places, such as Norway’s lesser known Fjords. It also means we can dock in the heart of some of the world’s most fascinating cities. With sailings from five departure ports around the UK, your next Fred. Olsen cruise is closer than you think.
https://www.fredolsencruises.com/ (opens in new tab)
Company benefits
Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines offers a range of company benefits including BUPA medical, Life Assurance, discounted holidays and cruises plus retail discounts and cash back incentives through our MyBenefits scheme.
Disability Confident
A fair proportion of interviews for this apprenticeship will be offered to applicants with a disability or long-term health condition. This includes non-visible disabilities and conditions.
You can choose to be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident scheme. You’ll need to meet the essential requirements to be considered for an interview.
After this apprenticeship
After successful completion of the apprenticeship course, there will be the possibility of progressing into a permanent position within the business.
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
FRED. OLSEN CRUISE LINES LIMITED
Molly Bergdahl
molly.bergdahl@fredolsen.co.uk
07442368880
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000340751.
Apply now
Closes in 18 days (Wednesday 24 September 2025)
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After signing in, you’ll apply for this apprenticeship on the company's website.