Matthew Croshaw, East Riding College

Matthew Croshaw has been working as the marketing and communications manager at East Riding College for six years. Here, he tells us about a typical day in his working life...

I get woken up quite early by my six-month old Oscar and his big brother William. Then it is all hands to the pump with my partner Helen until school time.

When I arrive at work, I settle down with a cup of tea and go through my emails. It is a busy time at the moment.

We are preparing to launch our redesigned website, which is the single most important marketing resource an organisation like ours can have. The way people use it has followed the pattern we predicted. People want to do everything online.

They are not interested in reams of copy, they just want to find what they want and action it quickly. I liken it to an Argos shopping experience - find, filter, make purchase. Analytics show that is what people are doing, so we are using that information for our new launch.

I might have a meeting with Jason Gillyon, our web developer, to discuss the appearance and function of the website.

Then, it is time to think about the new campus on Flemingate. I have a lot to do with that, at the moment. Work has just started and it is an incredibly exciting time for us. We are deciding how we, as members of staff, want to use it. And I am executing how I, as marketing, want to use the building and its location to raise the profile of the College.

I am meeting with Houlton, our contractors, on a regular basis to see how work is progressing on site. That helps me to develop newsworthy stories to promote the College and its future.

I try to get as much press coverage as possible for the College, so I am often meeting students and tutors. I talk to them to see what they are doing and then package that into press releases, arrange photographs and speak to the newspapers.

But it isn’t just putting material out there for the wider press, there is a lot of management and leadership involved. Collaborative working ensures the College is functioning effectively and efficiently.

My role is very important as we are only able to provide the services we provide if we attract students. We only get funded for the students we bring in. It is vital that we have student recruitment as a suitable level in order that the College can achieve its ultimate goal - the highest quality teaching and learning experience possible.

Our learners become well-rounded people, fully prepared to go out into a competitive jobs market or to progress on to university.

I have a very high degree of job satisfaction, working in an industry that I can believe in. There is a lot of enjoyment gained in seeing people on their journey and what they are capable of achieving after they have been with us for some time.

But, when the working day is over, I rush home and walk the dog, get the baby to bed and spend some quality time with my older son. Then I hope that Helen and I might squeeze an hour of quiet time and a glass of wine at the end of the day.