Independent Media Agencies of Australia (IMAA) has launched its most significant education initiative, the IMAA Academy – the most comprehensive learning platform for the media industry.
The IMAA Academy is the biggest investment made by the IMAA to date and aims to address the skills crisis in the industry, level the playing field for independent media agencies, upskill staff for future indie agency success and attracting talent to the sector.
Two years in the making, the IMAA Academy is an e-learning course designed to educate the industry on the foundations of media and is an all-inclusive training program built exclusively for junior and senior IMAA member media agency employees, IMAA partners, school and university students and non-members including clients.
The Academy’s syllabus includes eight e-learning media course modules, with the first module launching today and the others rolling out every six weeks, plus videos and podcasts featuring industry leaders and channel specialists. Each of the modules is IMAA certified, with participants receiving a course badge once they successfully complete an exam for each course.
The eight modules include Media 101, audio, digital, cinema, TV, out-of-home, regional, and publishing & news.
Business in a Box is a special feature of the IMAA Academy, which is a training subscription providing 21 additional courses across all staff levels. It provides further training in presentation skills, compliance, people development and business management.
Sam Buchanan, IMAA CEO, said: “The IMAA Academy has been built by the industry, for the industry. It’s our biggest commitment yet to attracting and nurturing talent and leaving our industry a better place for it. Investment in staff is critical to both attract and retain talent – a Deloitte survey found that companies that invest in training and development have 218% higher revenue per employee than those that don’t. Another survey by Randstad revealed that a third of employees said a lack of training prompted their decision to leave their jobs.”
“We are tremendously proud to launch the IMAA Academy to address the recent skills and training issues our industry is facing – more than 1,000 years of combined industry experience and consultation with more than 70 media experts went into creating it,” he said.
“The independent media agency sector is resilient and growing, plus is an attractive option for talent and this, along with our campaign to attract UK talent to indie agencies, will help our sector continue to grow and thrive,” Buchanan added.
The IMAA Academy will be offered as an all-inclusive training package with all media course modules and Business in a Box included, or as individual modules with a two-tiered pricing structure.
As part of the independent media agency sector’s commitment to reconciliation, the IMAA will offer free access to the IMAA Academy via a scholarship to a First Nations student.