Sarah Aitken, Quirk eMarketing's Marketing Manager, had this to say:
"At Quirk we're always working to fuel growth in the online industry with our professional workshops, seminars and lectures at tertiary institutions, but we find that there's just no substitute for first-hand practical experience, and this is what we hope this internship program will provide."
By building capacity in the industry, not only does it give eMarketing companies like Quirk eMarketing a larger pool of talent to draw from, it also addresses a real educational need in South Africa.
Too often South Africa's lag in the online market is blamed purely on technological barriers like broadband penetration but a large part of the problem appears to be a lack of real online marketing talent.
Quirk eMarketing will be taking on two interns for six months of 2007, with the aim of unearthing and developing talent for longer-term employment opportunities.
The internship will be structured. For the first month, interns will get an overview of the eMarketing industry and thereafter they'll get to select an area of specialisation from:
Website Design and Development
Search Engine Optimisation
Pay Per Click
Online Advertising
Affiliate Marketing
Viral Marketing
WebPR
Email Marketing
...or any combination of these areas.
Underscoring their commitment to the development of eMarketing as a discipline, Quirk eMarketing has also just launched their eMarketing 101 online tutorial series. This 15-part series will cover various aspects of the industry and provides a valuable resource to the marketer looking to make their mark online.