Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT) has created a two-year Higher Certificate in Business and Social Media Marketing to teach students how to use sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to market businesses.
The course will teach students how to market through social media sites and will give them the skills on how to work in the industry.
They will undertake industry-related projects during this course to help them develop their communication and technical skills.
The course will also offer a series of master classes with leaders in the sector to give students an insight into their careers.
“There are simply not enough social media and digital marketing professionals in Ireland to meet industry demand at present,” said Orla Thornton, AIT marketing lecturer.
“A talent gap has emerged between the skills required for marketing jobs and the number of people who possess those skills and this course aims to fill that gap.
“According to recent figures, digital marketing spend is growing at a rate of 20pc per annum, so we need skilled professionals to keep up with this trend,” she said, referencing a recent AMAS survey which stated that social media marketing is the second most-preferred format of marketing.
AIT’s Higher Certificate in Business and Social Media Marketing course will commence from September and students can apply through the change of mind facility of the CAO available between 5 May and 1 July.
