The Australian Talent Forecast with FBI Talent Co.
Without question, creative agencies in Australia punch well above their weight. They’ve consistently performed well over the years at the global award shows and whilst this won’t change dramatically over the coming years, there are numerous challenges and concerns we face as an industry
COVID kick-started a general shift in mentality that being closer to family was now a priority. The impact of this continues to see fewer international creatives looking to move to Australia.
We were also expecting to see more ex-pat talent return home. However, with the majority already in senior or creative leadership positions; the commercial reality (salary levels) and the general lack of open roles, presented a road block to consider returning home. In most cases, the talent that has returned was mainly driven by family reasons.
The greatest concern we have for the creative talent market moving forward is the reality that a significant number of our best mid-senior creatives are going to move overseas. This talent is generally at a stage in life where they are yet to have children and/or without a mortgage; therefore gaining international experience prior to ‘settling down’ is a common pattern.
Historically the talent that has moved overseas has been balanced out mostly by the talent entering the Australian market. As the latter has stalled and given there hasn’t been the ability, in general, for Australian talent to move overseas for the last 3 years (COVID + economic conditions internationally), I’m predicting we are going to see a larger than normal volume of talent leaving our shores over the next 12-18 months.
As it stands, our creative departments are becoming increasingly top heavy. The need for younger talent to be able to hit the ground running has seen very few entry level creatives hired, given the lack of training and education around job readiness. With the impending volume of mid-senior talent moving overseas, and the lack of talent coming into Australia, the industry is facing a scenario of a significant talent void at the junior – senior creative levels.
A lot can be done as a market to address some of these issues; more comprehensive and relevant education & training to ensure that at the junior level there is an aspect of job readiness instilled to set up young creatives for success. Agencies also need to ensure they are actually ready to take on young talent; providing the necessary time to mentor, educate and guide.
Training and education at all levels is an area that lacks for creative talent in Australia. As one example, senior creatives moving into Creative Director roles are asked to switch from being purely focussed on the work to adding layers of people & process management to their remit. A lot of creative talent make that transition seamlessly, but to ensure the best outcome for the agency and the individuals concerned, providing an increased level of structured training can only be of benefit.
The LAUNCH programme we’ve started is about creating regular opportunities for entry level talent to get into agency creative departments; as well as for emerging talent to showcase their thinking beyond what they might have the opportunity to do in their existing agencies. The partnership with LIA and their LIAisons coaching program will provide talent with invaluable and curated mentorship, coaching and guidance for their careers moving forward.
That said, LAUNCH is only a drop in the ocean for what the Australian industry needs to do as a whole. I’d love to see a world in which, like most international markets that perform well, we had a 6-12 month full-time creative school here in Australia; run by proven educators, and where the level of accountability around students getting into jobs was a priority. The future would look a lot brighter.
