457 visa changes: The onus is now on agencies to nurture local talent
It’s premature to try to understand the full impact of the Turnbull government’s 457 visa changes, but one thing is certain, if Australia’s communications industry wants to continue to punch above its weight, it’s going to have to start investing in local talent, says Tony Hale, CEO of The Communications Council.
An issue of immense significance to the advertising industry has been bubbling to the surface – I refer of course to talent.
Mumbrella’s Simon Canning recently interviewed me as he analysed an international report that revealed stark findings about Australian universities’ ability to prepare students for success within creative industries.
This sounds harsh but I think another issue in industry failing to produce talent is young people entering into junior positions from their parents securing them a job rather than off merit and establishing themselves based off who they are related to rather than the work they produce. Sure, half the people I know who found jobs this way are great at what they do but they lack other qualities that make someone into a great mentor and manager later on in their career and struggle to relate to juniors who have or had to do the hard work themselves, with the juniors also struggling to relate to their managers experience.
The time has come to stop importing 4th-rate advertising and marketing types from (mostly) England, who have little to trade on except an odd accent. Shiploads of these blaggers have arrived in Sydney during the past decade, most having dismally failed to get a gig at home and presuming that Australian agencies won’t know the difference between talent and an accent. Many don’t.
Sure, a tiny number have something to offer, but there are way too many shysters and cockney con-artists bobbing up around agency land. Some even invent previous roles in the UK knowing full-well that local agency hirers are too lazy to check. It ends now. They can catch the 457 home.
Sounds like a case of Anglophobia here. If you can’t identify these particular [quote] “Cockney con artists”[unquote] or indicate even one, then these statements are in danger of appearing racist. In many other guises, they would be considered so. What you call an “Odd Accent” is what you would have in London, but there are many Australians working and living there, and contributing to all the many other odd accents.
The CSU Comms School in Bathurst has lots of keen students looking for internships and holiday work and ultimately agency gigs.
If they aren’t industry ready, then work with us, we’ll let you brief them on your needs and we can design subjects and assessments so they can contribute right from the get go – it makes for better outcomes all around.
Interesting.
The Rookies ‘school report’ looks fairly deficient as the “rankings focus on the quality of content submitted to our judging panel by students, rather than grades provided by staff and facilities.” It’s limited in scope, self reflexive and lacks rigor.
I’m therefore quite concerned that underlying beliefs (e.g. lack of capable graduates) are endorsed without factual proof.
Perhaps a more objective report needs to be commissioned, one that looks at the entire Tertiary, VET and private sector that feeds into the ‘Communications Industry’. I am happy to join a research team to undertake this joint Industry/University/Private Education provider project.
Will you put some money up for this Tony?
We work hard in the University sector to create Industry ready graduates across a myriad of business sectors. At Swinburne we embrace the practice of work integrated learning (WIL), on the back of decades of experience around Industry Based Learning (IBL).
I teach Advertising and Industry Engagement is front and center of my practice, and I know other University and private sector programs also do this (CSU, Macleay, etc).
Lets examine what we offer across Australia critically and objectively and move forward with recommendations after that.
David Reid
Lecturer, Advertising, Swinburne University
Thanks David,
Some minor editing from Mumbrella has probably skewed the emphasis of my piece with respect to being ‘job ready’.
I have no problem with the quality of the candidates tertiary education institutions are producing, nor the content of the degrees.
My point was that a relevant degree does not ensure success in the industry, nor is success necessarily reliant upon a degree.
I likened advertising to a high impact participation sport and it was unreasonable to expect students to be ‘match fit’ until they’ve actually had a chance to perform on the field. And it is the industry’s role to develop talent once they’re in the workforce.
Happy to chat further if you like. Please feel free to call me at any time.
Tony
It seems that many people are expecting instant gratification, instant effectiveness, and brand new ready to use products.
Why not? we live in a world of apps and google, where everything under the sun is available at the click of a mouse.
Unfortunately, this does not apply to newly minted graduates clutching their degrees, and still showing the crease on their forehead from the recently hired mortar board.
Just like all of us, they must gain industry experience before they will be able to shove that degree where it belongs; a few letters after their name in future industry publications and press releases.