So you see your future in advertising ... but you also see yourself having to go to uni for years on end … racking up that student debt ... and not being certain of finding any kind of graduate job within the industry afterwards? It's a major gamble in this not-so-healthy job market, even though the advertising profession has been dominated by university graduates for decades, if not centuries, while for years, graduates of all kinds have played a major part in the pizza delivery business.
But we're not here to make cheap jokes at their expense. What we can do today, though, is let you into a little secret so you can bypass what could be three potentially very entertaining - but extremely expensive - years at uni, together with all the joys of whizzing in and out of rainy, night-time urban traffic to get that all-dressed-with-extra-everything delivered within the advertised time limit.
Creative Skillset, the sector skills council for the creative industry, have developed a Higher Level Apprenticeship in Advertising and Marketing Communications.
It's the first apprenticeship specifically for would-be advertising professionals, and it's not only going to benefit those who aren't planning on a stint at uni, but also ad agencies and those hiring marketing and advertising staff who can now, as Creative Skillset says, "tap into a more diverse candidate pool".
And between ourselves, we think that's a pretty good thing, especially when it comes to graduate-crafted commercials that must cost a fortune to produce, and an even greater fortune to air at prime time. They may make sense to other graduates and postgraduates, and may even be interesting and entertaining to watch ... but they totally confuse the rest of us because we haven’t got a clue what they’re selling. Oh. Hang on – it’s perfume. Right. No – wait – it’s … it’s … a liqueur. Er, no – a watch, maybe? A car – it’s got to be a car. Definitely a car.
Oh, we give up. Pass the remote, would you?
So instead of at least three years of hard graft and a diet of beans from the tin before you get those letters after your name, why not take a leaf out of Nike's book when it comes to an advertising apprenticeship and ... just do it
Also be sure to check out NGtU's section on Advertising and PR apprentice jobs which is updated on a weekly basis with the latest vacancies from employers throughout the UK.
