In an industry where human capital is highly transient in nature, talent retention and acquisition continues to pose a perennial challenge for agencies.

With the recent launch of Media Masters, the first nationally recognized programme for the media industry that is offered by leading global media investment management operation, GroupM, it addresses the industry’s thirst for talents and is finally doing something about it.

Applauding the move, the 4As President, Ted Choo said, “The 4As is very pleased with this initiative by GroupM. It signals a refocus on professional competency and knowledge critical to our industry.”

Targeting fresh university and polytechnic graduates, the six-month Media Masters programme offers selected candidates a chance to take the first step towards a career in media management. Reflective of the constant evolution of digital frontiers, at least one third of the course will be dedicated to digital media planning and buying.

With a Talent Development Committee also exploring training possibilities with the Workforce Development Agency (WDA), the 4As has too marked this area as one of the key priorities for the industry.

Ted Choo believes that agencies will gradually take the lead from GroupM. “This is the first of numerous ‘quality class’ initiatives that the association will support or embark to raise our value in the marketing and media community. We look towards our members for more of these ideas and initiatives and we will help them seek funding, resource support or compatibility matching with the relevant government authorities.”