The company, which has offices in Lincoln and Nottingham, signed the paperwork earlier this month to employ 18-year-old Chloe Wiggs on a 12-month apprenticeship with Grimsby Institute.

Wiggs, who studied business, media studies and sociology at Lincoln Castle Academy, which she left this summer, has joined Allen Signs as sales and marketing executive after passing her A Levels.

She will work in the firm’s Lincoln head office from Monday to Friday, but 20% of her time will be spent on training programmes in partnership with Grimsby Institute on the intermediate sales and telesales apprenticeship course to further develop her skills.

“I’ve always been interested in marketing and I can’t wait to learn more about the company and get on board with their ambitious plans for growing the business,” said Wiggs.

“Although I had the option of going to university this year, I decided to kick start my career with Allen Signs to build my experience and skills with a reputable firm. I can’t thank them enough for this opportunity.”

Wiggs will work closely with Glen Merryweather, one of the company’s three directors.

Merryweather said: “Thanks to our ambitious growth plan, we’re in a position to be able to recruit new members to the team. As a company, we are very keen on developing our staff throughout their journey with us.

“Chloe made the choice to join our team rather than continuing to university, so we’re going to make sure we invest our time and resources into her, like we do with all of our staff.

“Chloe is going to be able to help us market our services and products with great enthusiasm as we continue to increase our work outside of the East Midlands.”

Now employing close to 20 staff, Allen Signs turns over around £1.3m. Early last year the company installed an EFI H1625 LED flatbed printer. This followed its 2015 acquisition of the printing division of Double Red, which now operates independently under the name Double Red Print.

Last month four of the firm’s staff completed the Three Peaks Challenge, raising more than £2,000 for charity in the process.