The Communications Council has selected a record number of 40 graduates to complete its nine month industry training program.
The Communications Council today announced a record number of positions for its Graduate Trainee Program, the leading industry training program for aspiring advertising talent.
40 graduates have been selected for the 2011 programme. They will go on to complete nine month contracts in participating agencies across the industry. Selected grads from all academic disciplines will be introduced to account management, strategic planning, digital and other areas of the marketing communications business.
303 Advertising, AJF Advertising, Badjar Ogilvy, BMF Advertising, Clemenger , DDB , Droga5, Happy Soldiers, H&T, Host, Leo Burnett , Lavender*, M&C Saatchi, Three Drunk Monkeys, OBM Advertising, Saatchi & Saatchi Healthcare, Pulse Marketing, and Whybin\TBWA will all take up successful candidates.
“It is great to see so many agencies get behind the program. In as far as it is a barometer for the industry’s health, the record number of placements is a sure sign that our sector is on the up,” said Daniel Leesong, CEO of the Communications Council. “We consider educating entrants in our sector as a vital part of the organisation’s mission, and this program goes a good way towards the hands-on experience that many agencies are seeking in their employees.”
All selected Sydney and Melbourne graduates will complete a five-day live-in Summer AdSchool course at the Sydney University Village early next year, which will teach them the basics of the business and will see industry speakers share their insights.
Throughout their nine month placement, there will also be a formal program of monthly meetings with talks from inspirational speakers and experienced industry leaders at participating agencies.
Matthew Melhuish Head of Australian Agencies Photon Group said “Our industry sits at a unique point, the junction between four major societal forces: the business world, the creative arts, the media and consumer society. It is very dynamic, always changing and never dull. No one understands it all and what worked yesterday probably won’t work tomorrow. This trainee programme offers the very best head start anyone could ever have in this fascinating industry. I was a trainee many years ago and I am still very grateful for the amazing opportunities it offered me. The intelligence, passion and dynamism of the trainees BMF have had through the program in recent years is simply outstanding – they are some of the best people in the industry today.”
Now in its 27th year, the Graduate Trainee Program has delivered some 350 ad graduates, including a number of successful alumni among which, Steve Anastasiadis, General Manager, Saatchi & Saatchi, Michael Connaghan, CEO and Executive Director STW Group, James Graham, Managing Director, McCann Worldgroup, Melbourne, and Martin Trevaskis, Editor, Campaign Brief, Perth.
The final selection of graduates will take place in Sydney on October 28 and Melbourne on November 3. Their training is set for January 31 2011 to the 4th of February 2011, with the program commencing February 7.
For more information about the program, contact Gawen Rudder on 02 8297 3800.