Training offers graduates a head start

Academy gives advertising graduates better prospects

CAPE Town-based digital marketing firm Mark1 has launched a first of its kind in-house training programme to improve the calibre of advertising graduates in the country. The Mark1 Media Academy (M1MA) is an internship programme that aims to upskill and train recent advertising graduates and equip them with an in-depth knowledge of the South African advertising landscape and offers several candidates employment in the process.

Mark1 has invested more than R500 000 in the academy since its inception in February.

The three-month course, monitored by an intern mentor and supervisor, is divided into four components including ad operations, sales, strategy and digital design.

While South Africa is making great strides with regard to training and upskilling in the digital marketing space, the ad operations programme’s primary focus is not something students can study for at university as it requires on-the-job training.

Daan du Toit, managing director at Mark1, said hands-on training was always beneficial since it gave candidates the opportunity to apply their theoretical knowledge.

“We are passionate about creating employment opportunities for young, talented South Africans and we believe that this programme will contribute largely to the talent pool this industry needs,” he said.

Du Toit said that while graduates who entered the industry came with a top-level theoretical understanding of the digital advertising and marketing landscape, they failed to fully understand the mechanics behind the campaign conceptualisation process and how it was managed and served online.

He said the academy aimed to provide graduates with a focused and streamlined approach to the way they would function and operate in the media and ad industry.

“Further, it will educate the ‘new generation of eager, young minds’ with the practical experience that can also be applied in a real-work scenario.”

Academy intern Tyan Odendaal said that while his marketing degree gave him a good stepping stone, Mark1 Media’s internship programme was giving him the real tools he needs when it came to the digital advertising landscape.

“This programme has equipped me with a wealth of knowledge that I wouldn’t be able to get anywhere else,” said Odendaal.

Du Toit said Mark1 had had great success training interns and many remained employed at the business, but this year was the best time to introduce a formal and structured internship programme.

He said six students were enlisted in the programme and the selection criteria was based on the skill set that the business required.

Although Mark1 always strove to provide employment once students concluded the programme, this was not always possible. “But on completion of this programme, we are 100% certain that interns will be well-equipped to find employment in the industry and take their careers to the next level.

“Mark1 also commits to using its expansive network to assist them,” said Du Toit.