CAREERS MEDIA: Thailand struggling as post-recession talent pool dries up

<p>The return to the good times highlights a chronic shortage of </p><p>talent. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Returning confidence in Thailand, and especially within Thailand, is </p><p>seeing both international and local clients increasing their advertising </p><p>investments. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Budgets are up, new products are coming to the market and new business </p><p>pitches are rampant. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Of course, all of this is great news for the advertising agencies and </p><p>media specialists. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The only problem - where are the young talented staff we all need to </p><p>handle this business? </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The recent lean years have taken their toll. Many have left the industry </p><p>altogether. Others have sought refuge in the comparatively secure and </p><p>well-paid client-side of the business. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>And who has had the time, resource or foresight to recruit and train new </p><p>staff? </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Sadly, the answer is very few companies indeed. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>And then there are the dotcoms. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Thailand has been at least six months behind Hong Kong and Singapore's </p><p>rapid development, but we can now say that dotcom fever has truly </p><p>hit. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>More than US$1 million was spent promoting websites in </p><p>traditional media during Q1 this year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>That's more than three times the total for whole of 1999. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>While individual budgets are small, there are plenty of them, and every </p><p>week sees more new entrants. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>(MindShare has helped launch seven sites this year with many more to </p><p>come). </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>We are only just starting to see a talent exodus to the dotcoms, and I </p><p>fear the impact it will have on the chronic shortage of media </p><p>professionals in this market. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>What can we do about this? </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>It's simple really; we need to recruit and train. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>As an industry, we must agree to invest in the future. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The launch of media specialists has at last brought focus to this part </p><p>of the business and we must leverage the increased scale of operations </p><p>to invest more in software, media tools and training. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Unfortunately, it is often easier to simply poach talent. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>At MindShare, we have acknowledged the only way to continue growth, </p><p>while meeting the challenges of the new media era, is to develop </p><p>talent ... and quickly. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>We have hired several fresh graduates and will soon implement locally a </p><p>brand new worldwide training system focused on total communication </p><p>solutions. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>I hope that this achieves more than to reinforce our image as the prime </p><p>recruiting ground for other media specialists entering the market. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Let's all accept the responsibility to find and develop new talent. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Of course, this issue is not restricted to Thailand, and is common to </p><p>the industry worldwide. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Ms Shelly Lazarus, CEO of O&M Worldwide, recently told the US4As that </p><p>"there is more opportunity in our business than we have the people or </p><p>resources to handle". </p><p><BR><BR> </p>