The Association for Data-driven Marketing and Advertising (ADMA) today announces that it has launched the ADMA One for One Program donating one free course for every single ADMA IQ course sold.

The course will be given to someone from outside the industry who would benefit from having marketing, data and digital skills but may not be in a position to fund themselves.

Recipients will include small businesses, start-ups, those who have been out of the workforce due to unemployment, ill-health or maternity/paternity leave, regional and rural communities with restricted access to training and women who wish to enter the data sciences and data disciplines.

$500,000 dollars of free courses will initially be distributed via the established networks of ADMA’s five foundation partners, Australia Post, Bupa, Optus, Stockland and Westpac before being extended to additional distribution networks in May. ADMA expects to donate over $2.5 million in training by the end of 2016. Details of courses, selection criteria and the process can be found here.

Jodie Sangster CEO of ADMA commented “ADMA has been vocal in its concerns over the lack of appropriately skilled marketers in Australia, so now we are quite literally putting our money where our mouth is.

“I’m proud that ADMA is taking direct action to help ensure Australia has the skills its needs for its digital future. The One or One Program will extend the reach of our education curriculum to individuals and businesses most in need of acquiring the tools necessary to remain competitive and relevant in a post-digital world.”

Globally, data-driven marketing is becoming increasingly critical for businesses. The second annual Global review of Data-Driven Marketing and Advertising[i] report produced by Winterberry for the Global Direct Marketing Association (GlobalDMA) found that 81.3 per cent of marketers see data as important to their efforts, whilst 59.3 per cent described it as critical, up from 57.1 per cent year on year.

Ben White, acting managing director of product and marketing, Optus, said “Professional development is critically important to us at Optus, and this program will enable us to share the investment in our people with the broader business community.”

“The ADMA’s education programs are an invaluable resource, providing foundational training and aligning marketing professionals with global best practice, so to make this available to individuals and smaller organisations will broaden the local talent base in the key skill areas of digital and data.”

According to LinkedIn’s annual survey[ii], 18 out of the 25 most in-demand skills were in the STEM, data and data-driven marketing areas but research studies[iii] by ADMA and its sister industry associations IAPA (Institute of Analytics Professionals of Australia) and AIMIA (the digital industry association of Australia) consistently highlight the lack of appropriately skilled marketers as a key challenge for businesses.

Further, A report by global IT consultancy firm Infosys released at the World Economic Forum in January 2016 found that young Australians are less prepared for the digital world than comparable countries, ranking last out of nine countries (Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States) for young people being confident in their job skills and feeling optimistic about their employment prospects.

Jodie Sangster concluded, “It is critical for Australia’s long term competitiveness to invest in a highly skilled workforce in digital growth areas.

“We are extremely fortunate to be working with partners who recognise the urgent need to invest in digital and data-driven marketing skills for the good, not just of their own company, but also for the wider Australian economy.”

And there’s nothing more powerful or exciting than education, so click away on ADMA IQ’s extensive range of courses right here.

 

[i] http://globaldma.com/survey
[ii] https://www.bandt.com.au/media/did-you-make-linkedins-list-of-hottest-skills-of-2015
[iii] http://prwire.com.au/pr/58131/aimia-digital-industry-salary-survey-reveals-demand-for-skilled-digital-professionals
http://www.iapa.org.au/Article/2015IAPASkillsSalaryReport
http://www.adma.com.au/connect/articles/ADMA-Launches-New-Education-Curriculum-ADMA-IQ/