Why In-House 'Universities' Might Replace Portfolio Schools

The pathway into the advertising industry has been set for decades: Pay many thousands of dollars to attend college or a portfolio school, then secure an entry-level agency job. Yet, a new movement is gathering pace, with agencies increasingly creating in-house educational programs. Training is nothing new. The scale of these new initiatives is, though. Potential and current employees can enroll in a variety of industry-related courses organized by the agency to gain valuable skills and even accreditation—usually for free. As these informal schools gain momentum, it’s not difficult to imagine that they will begin to upend the old hiring model, remaking the composition of the agency workforce in the process. Leaders are beginning to discover that many modern graduates are not actually work-ready, while college fees are pricing many skilled students out of higher education and therefore careers in advertising. People are coming to the obvious realization that talent and potential are not limited to the college campus. Hiring straight from high school or other unrelated fields can only enrich the thinking and output of the modern agency. It's good for business, and it’s good for the world. Real shift The tech industry was the first to really run with the idea of in-house education. In 2019, Amazon announced plans to spend $700 million over six years to retrain a third of its U.S. workforce through its Machine Learning University. It attributed this directly to the rise of automation and machine learning, accepting that the skills of its workforce could not keep pace with the scale of change within the industry. Chicago Portfolio School Executive Director Calls Start of Semester ‘Messy and Irresponsible’ The creative industry has followed suit. In 2020, M&C Saatchi set up its training program Open House, recognizing the need for “an active role in fuzzing the dynamic between industry and education." These initiatives offer a teaching and learning model that traditional universities and colleges can’t replicate. A mixture of hard and soft skills, from teamwork and leadership to teaching design programs or coding, is learning that is geared to equip current and potential employees. Failures of the status quo The No. 1 issue with traditional colleges and portfolio schools is the cost of entry. People shouldn’t have to spend years and get into tons of debt just for a place in this industry. What getting a foot in the door really takes is a curious person with a creative mind who's willing to learn and grow. The bias against hiring talent who didn't attend traditional portfolio schools, whether intentional or subconscious, limits the variety and diversity of agency hires. These in-house training initiatives open up a new entry point. These traditional institutions don't necessarily provide students with what agencies are looking for either. It would be a huge leap to translate graduate portfolios into the working environment. That ivory tower thinking is largely abstract and theoretical, rather than reflective of real-world challenges. It doesn’t make sense that people are spending thousands of dollars on years of education and aren’t prepared for entry-level work. This isn’t to lay the blame fully on colleges. The industry changes at such a breakneck speed that it’s hard for anyone to keep up, but especially at traditional institutions. Who benefits? These initiatives are not only aimed at entry-level employees but also at helping established creatives upskill and innovate. In turn, they keep the agency at the top of its game. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), more than 1 billion people will need re-skilling by 2030. Employees want to grow. An in-house university will cultivate a culture similar to teaching hospitals: People are working, learning and teaching all at the same time. It’s an environment of a constant creative challenge. It’s great for everyone. How to start There are a few crucial first steps: Set a mission. What do you want this initiative to accomplish? Without a guiding light, it will fail. Identify any gaps in knowledge. What do your employees need to grow? A well-rounded in-house school offers both soft and hard skills.Consider the level of investment. What's the budget for this initiative? Is this sustainable? It's a costly endeavor, from hiring educators to carving out time for employees to do it, especially if these lessons are being provided for free. (And they should be. This is supposed to be addressing the problems of the traditional model, which include steep costs.) Admittedly, universities aren’t going anywhere, but in-house education is going to be a real alternative to universities and portfolio schools. For those young people who are creative and hungry, but are not planning to attend a four-year college, there should be an alternate way of learning and getting into our industry. These initiatives will continue to grow, and not just in this sector. They’ll become more robust, offer flexible accreditation and more learning routes, and change the industry for the better. Broadway Uses AR to Get People Into Theaters

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Why In-House 'Universities' Might Be the Future of the Creative Industry

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Gino Carolini

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Gino Carolini