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(This article first appeared on BizCommunity)
Written By: Louise Marsland
"How we upskill people in the industry is key."
Digital experts are starting to warn of a skills shortage in digital marketing implementation and strategy in South Africa due to the speed with which the local industry has evolved, as well as a 'poach policy' rather than a 'mentoring' mentality.
Global digital guru and chief digital officer of Fogg Experiential Design, Prakash Patel (@PrakashPatel_1), said the South African digital industry hasn't truly invested in the next generation.
"Our biggest problem in the digital industry in South Africa, is purely the 'poach poach' policy. I feel we should be a lot more responsible – we encourage people to leave their jobs after a year, to be poached, and we throw stupid money at them.
"They have no idea how to mentor or teach the next generation. We need to invest back into the industry. I still mentor people who are VPs of major companies in America. We need to start giving back in a big way," Patel reiterated.
Planning for the next digital generation is what advertising schools like the Red & Yellow School of Logic and Magic, bought by Quirk Education a couple of years ago, is doing through the expansion of its e-learning programmes throughout Africa and the launch of new digital marketing courses for 2017.
Quirk Education launched the first eMarketing training in South Africa through its successful e-learning courses in digital marketing, producing the first textbook for the South African market. When it bought Red & Yellow, the curriculum of the advertising and creative school was transformed to meet the needs of a future marketplace, as well as expand into the continent.
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