Selection process for the 2012 Communications Council graduate trainee program underway with a record 30 agencies offering over 40 placements
Communications Council agency members are in the process of selecting the new talent joining their ranks, as part of the 2012 Graduate Trainee Program.
A record 30 agencies are involved in this year’s program, run by The Communications Council. The highly competitive trainee program is offering over 40 placements in top agencies this year.
Launched through agency Host, the graduate program’s facebook recruitment campaign became a viral success driving 140 applications from 37 universities.
Now in its selection phase, over 60 applicants are being rated on key skills such as problem solving capabilities and digital savviness.
The program has recently opened its doors to graduates from all academic backgrounds, and attracted recruits from disciplines such as psychology, management and international relations through to law and design, including a number of grads with double degrees.
Selected graduates from all academic disciplines will be introduced to account management, strategic planning, digital and other areas of marketing communications.
Participating agency Droga5 has been taking grads for the past two years. Droga5’s managing director Marianne Bess (left, with creative chairman David Nobay and planning partner Sudeep Gohill) says that the support, mentoring and training that the grads get through the program automatically makes them more valuable to agencies, while recruiting through the Communications Council means selection is an efficient process taking place over a single day, compared to recruiting directly, which can take weeks.
Says Bess:”The Graduate Trainee presents a brilliant opportunity — for both the students and for the agencies. The trainees get their teeth into genuine challenges in the communications business, and the agencies get introduced to the best and brightest, the future stars of our industry.”
This year’s participating agencies include: Iris Worldwide, The Monkeys, Oddfellows, Lavender, Host, M&C Saatchi, H&T, JWT, BMF, Amnesia Razorfish, George Patterson Y&R, McCann Healthcare, CMG Australia, Bashful, Saatchi & Saatchi Health, Saatchi & Saatchi, Clemenger Group, Loud, DDB, and Ogilvy.
Participating Melbourne agencies include AJF Partnership, Freeform, Lavender, BMF, George Patterson Y&R, DDB, OBM Advertising and Leo Burnett, Clemenger Group and Badjar Ogilvy.
All selected graduates will complete a five-day live-in Summer AdSchool course early next year, at the Sydney University Village and Trinity College, Melbourne, respectively. The course will take them through the basics of the business and with prominent industry speakers sharing 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.
The program has become a widely recognised industry training program over its 30 years of existence, known for its long history of delivering bright young talent to the industry.
The program has a seen over 380 graduates complete the program, including the successful alumni Michael Connaghan, CEO and executive director STW Group, Matthew Melhuish (left), head Australian Agencies Photon Group and Steve Anastasiadis, general manager, Saatchi & Saatchi.