At the end of last year we compiled a digital marketing skills needs survey to find out which topics were most crucial in skilling up the South African digital industry for the coming year. We share some of these results in our newsletter this month.
So after a little probing and a lot of dissecting we have discovered what the most pressing and vital training needs are this year. We divulge some of the findings here:
Which skills are most in demand?
The respondents indicated that the following digital skills were most in demand during 2013 – based on the number of job vacancies posted within their organisations – in order of priority:
1. Content Specialists: Manager, Developer, Editor, Copywriter etc.
2. Digital Marketing Manager
3. Social Media Specialists
4. Search Specialists: Mostly SEO
5. Usability / User Experience (UX) & Web Interface specialists
6. Online Media Buyers & Planners
7. Developers (mostly PHP)
8. Digital Account Directors & Project Managers
Current skills in demand:
A quick search across 4 of the major job boards in South Africa showed the following skills most in demand right now:
1. Social Media Specialists
2. UX Specialists
3. Digital Content Managers
Which short course or workshop are you most interested in?
The top 3 courses interested in were:
1. Web Analytics
2. Content Marketing
3. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
How many days would you consider appropriate for the short course or workshops?
The majority of respondents indicated that 3 days was sufficient considering time off work.
Which professional qualification or certification are you most interested in?
The top 3 qualifications interested in were:
1. Post-Graduate Diploma in Digital Marketing
2. Professional Diploma in Social Media Marketing
3. Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Professional Certification
When would be the most convenient time to attend training or lectures?
70% indicated that they would prefer to attend training over a number of days consecutively during the weekday. Whereas 63% indicated that they would be interested in online training. Only a small percentage said that they would be prepared to take evening or weekend classes.
If given the choice of attending physical lectures or online training, 56% said that they would rather attend a classroom lecture in person.
What fee would you expect to pay for formal certification?
The majority of respondents indicated that they would be prepared to pay between R7,000 to R10,000 for a formal qualification or accreditation. While only a few indicated that they would pay between R15,000 to R20,000 depending on the level of accreditation offered.
Number of people in your company that would benefit from, or would require digital training listed in the survey
59% of respondents indicated that there were more than 3 people in their organisation that would benefit immediately from digital marketing training, of which 8.6% indicated that there were at least 10 employees that should attend.
63% said that there organisations would prefer customised on-site training over attending public training sessions.
In which areas would you most likely attend training?
The top 3 locations were:
1. Johannesburg
2. Cape Town
3. Pretoria
In which months would you be most likely to attend training?
The top 3 months were:
1. February
2. March
3. June
The least likely would be November and December. Most respondents indicated that they would prefer to attend courses between the 10th and 20th day of the month.
For a copy of the full report, or for more information on our upcoming Digital training courses please contact Blue Magnet Digital.
