One of the IMC's fundamental objectives is equipping the youth with the relevant skills and experience to lead the way in an increasingly competitive marketing sector.

The conference partners with Red & Yellow Creative School of Business (Red & Yellow) to meet this objective. Red & Yellow is Africa's leading creative business school, which itself has a vision to build a formidable creative and energised talent pool.

The Nedbank IMC says that it is proud to be sponsoring two bursaries for on-campus students for 2024.

Dale Hefer, IMC CEO says that it is imperative for the marketing industry to seek out, nurture and retain talent.

"This is precisely why our bursary programme is an integral part of the Nedbank IMC mandate," she says. Hefer's sentiment aligns with the latest Department of Home Affair's Critical Skills Shortage list (2022), which singles out market research and multimedia design skills in particular as being in short supply."

According to the duo, Red & Yellow is not only a highly respected place of learning for creative industries but is also a driver of social upliftment and transformation. The school provides financial access to underprivileged students and helps open up direct access to the marketing, design and other creative industries.

It offers a variety of full-time and part-time programmes, including:
  • degrees
  • advanced diplomas, and
  • higher certificates.
Online qualifications and short courses are also catered for.

Verusha Maharaj, CEO of Red & Yellow (and a previous speaker at the Nedbank IMC 2020 conference), says the school's 93% student employability rate and a commitment to at least 10% of students being fully funded by bursaries, is a testament to their success of driving youth employment and kickstarting fulfilling careers.

"We're delighted to partner with the conference to encourage more businesses to partner with us to develop the next generation of changemakers, innovators and creators from disadvantaged backgrounds," concludes Maharaj.

For more information, visit www.imcconference.com. You can also follow the Nedbank IMC Conference on Facebook or on Twitter.