AA and Adwanted UK launch training hub for advertising and marketing industry
Over 500 vetted and quality-approved training courses for media and advertising professionals are being made available in one place for the first time.
Thanks to a partnership between the Advertising Association and Adwanted UK, the group behind The Media Leader and Adwanted Connected, the new training and development hub goes live today (Wednesday).
Training courses and qualifications cover a range of skills including creativity, strategy and data, and they have been curated to serve a range of learners: those entering the industry for the first time; those wishing to progress their careers; and HR or learning and development leads within small and medium-sized businesses who wish to upskill their teams.
The hub was developed on Adwanted UK’s Connected platform and all current users will have access as part of their subscription. The website is also available to the general public, who are required to create a login to view the directory.
Greg Grimmer, CEO of Adwanted UK, said: “At Adwanted, we strive to champion and nurture talent within the media and marketing sector through a range of initiatives aimed at attracting new talent into the industry and providing support for those already in place. Our partnership with the Advertising Association on this project aligns seamlessly.
“We are proud and excited to unveil this brilliant catalogue of accredited training courses available in a single, easy-to-use site. We believe this new resource will greatly benefit individuals at every level by providing easy access to training for their specific needs.”
Tackling skill shortages
The Advertising & Marketing Training Hub follows the release of the Advertising Association’s talent report, Investing in our Talent’s Future, which highlighted the industry’s need to address talent shortages through two key areas — better attraction and recruitment of new talent, and increased development and retention of existing talent.
The report, informed by UK advertising think-tank Credos and a special Talent Task Force comprising more than 20 HR leads, was published in 2023. It included data from Credos that showed the number of people working in advertising and marketing fell by 14% between 2019 and 2022. Meanwhile, HR leaders advised that skills shortages were most acute at entry level and mid level (people who are between three and five years into their careers).
It forms a key part of the Advertising Association’s three-year strategy focused on talent that runs through to 2025. Other actions as part of the strategy include the Hybrid Working Report, published in April 2024, a campaign to promote advertising as a career choice to young people and support for increased uptake of the apprenticeship scheme, following a campaign to reform the levy.
Digital and data skills are most in demand — a problem faced by the wider UK business sector, but where this industry differs against comparable ones is in uncompetitive salary levels and salary progression. After inflation, adspend has increased by 42% since 2011 while average annual advertising (-4%) and marketing (-10%) salaries have decreased over the same period.
Alessandra Bellini, president of the Advertising Association, said: “Our industry will only ever be as good as the people who work in it. Investment in professional development is paramount, whatever the level of experience, and this new training hub will help people, and their managers, find the very best courses and certificates to support career progression.
“Advertising is a tremendously fast-moving and exciting industry to work in — our goal with this hub is to help turbocharge the skills needed for our industry’s talent to thrive, compete and succeed.”
Providers and partners
The training providers are: Ad Net Zero, AdGreen, Alliance of Independent Agencies, Chartered Institute of Marketing, Clearcast, Data & Marketing Association, IAB UK, IPA, Isba, Market Research Society, Pinterest, Radiocentre, Newsworks and Thinkbox.
Training categories on offer includes: advertising, brand, creativity, digital skills, new business, marketing, media planning, people and leadership, personal skills, research, sustainability and net zero.
Members of the Talent Task Force are: Adam & Eve/DDB, Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, Channel 4, Data & Marketing Association, Grace Blue Partnership, Havas Media, IAB UK, IPA, Isba, Leith Agency, Leo Burnett, LS Productions, EssenceMediacom, Market Research Society, Tesco, the7stars and Republic of Media.
The hub will updated with new and relevant courses on an ongoing basis.
Industry training providers can contact inclusion@adassoc.org.uk to get involved.
