According to the agency, this will be done through theory and practical exposure, with the ultimate goal of employment as full-time performance marketers at R17 Ventures.

Raphael Rohner, CEO of R17 Ventures, says, "Upskilling and development is a pillar of R17 and as an employer in South Africa, we view it as part of our responsibility to help solve youth unemployment and create opportunities for economic growth."

The R17 Academy aims to offer competitive packages with milestone salary increments to graduate apprentices with the end goal of them joining the agency's full-time staff, where they can enjoy all company benefits.

While Monday, 9 January marked the official start of the R17 Academy, the agency ran a smaller-scale beta version in 2022, which offered key insights and learnings that were used in the creation of the current academy.

Academy lead Chanté Brand — who is a seasoned performance marketer in her own right — worked in conjunction with other leads at the agency to create a robust curriculum that will help guide, mentor and grow academy members into fully-fledged performance marketers.

Speaking on the skills that academy members will gain, Brand says, "By the end of the five-month programme, our academy members will be well versed in search engine advertising, paid social and email marketing — with the ability to strategise, build campaigns across the marketing funnel, optimise and report."

Twelve graduates were chosen for the first intake of the academy, with applications now open for the second intake, which commences in July 2023.

Roberta King who heads up talent and HR at R17 Ventures adds, "The calibre of graduates entering the workforce is incredibly high and with only a limited number of spaces available, we needed to rely on technology to help us find our twelve candidates, using a specially crafted assessment in conjunction with multi-stage interviews."

King concludes, "I encourage any young person who has recently graduated, or is looking to graduate by the end of June 2023 that has a keen interest in digital marketing and desire to accelerate their career, to apply for the next intake."

Founded in Switzerland in 2020, R17 Ventures, has offices across the DACH region, as well as in South Africa, with branches in:
  • Zurich
  • Berlin
  • Vienna, and
  • Cape Town.

Applications for the R17 Academy July 2023 intake close on Wednesday, 31 May.

For more information, visit www.r17ventures.com. You can also follow the R17 Academy on Facebook or on Instagram.