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One of the region’s leading advertising and public relations agencies is grooming university graduates to become future leaders in the field by sending them on an all-expense paid intense training programme in Lebanon.
The Red Academy, formed by Memac Ogilvy Group CEO and chairman Eddie Moutran, offers talented young minds under the age of 25 the chance to kick-start their careers in marketing, branding, PR, design and advertising by completing a month-long course covering all aspects of the industry.
Mr Moutran said: “I wanted to grow our own talent pool and make them a part of the Memac Ogilvy family. We will teach them how to handle every aspect of PR, advertising and marketing. I tell my offices, give me two individuals and I will return to you two experts.
“This programme is open to interns and university graduates. They simply contact our offices and if they fulfil the requirements, management will then choose two to send to the programme. We then take care of all their expenses for the programme and when they graduate, if they receive high recommendations from their trainers, will get a job.”
The academy, originally called the Graduate Training Programme, was first launched in 1996 to applicants in Lebanon. In April last year, the doors opened up to the rest of its 15 offices in the Middle East and North Africa region with two star students from Bahrain already securing posts at Memac Ogilvy.
Amal Mashkoor, 26, a web developer, and Haifa Mansoor, 23, a graphic designer, were both fresh graduates and interns at the agency when they learned about the academy opportunity.
Amal said: “This is an experience that I will never forget and great to have as the starting point of my career. I loved it and gained so much.”
Amal, who originally graduated from the University of Bahrain as an interior designer and then ventured into graphic design, started interning at the agency before applying for a spot in the academy.
She said: “I was so happy to be accepted into the project-based programme in Beirut. We stayed in a hotel which was in walking distance from the agency and the classes. The atmosphere there was great and the courses were intense.
“We got to meet different members from management every day to learn how everything works. Learning from them was much more valuable than anything I learned in school because it was first-hand working experience.”
Amal and Haifa, along with 16 other students from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Egypt and Tunisia, started learning the ins-and-outs of the advertising world at the beginning of August last year.
The diverse group spent each day from 9am to 5pm focusing on a different part of advertising including public relations, account activation, digital work, new business, human resources, financing and marketing.
Amal added: “While doing the programme it felt like this was the place to be. At the end of the course, we had a graduation ceremony and were all informed that we successfully passed and would be hired.
“I was so excited. I started working at the agency at the beginning of September, a few days after coming back from Lebanon.”
Haifa, from Isa Town, who graduated in graphic design from Bahrain Polytechnic, was also thrilled by the opportunity.
She said: “My parents were so proud of me and pushed me to go for the programme. I’m really glad I did and knowing the culture of the business helped me understand what I wanted to do.”
While pleased with the programme’s continuous growth and success, Mr Moutran still dreams of someday developing it into a full-fledged school.
For further details, visit Memac Ogilvy www.memacogilvy.com
