Recently announced as the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s (CIM) new digital ambassador for Wales, Gareth Morgan, managing director of local Cardiff agency Liberty Marketing, is committed to digital education.

Morgan’s mission is to emphasise the importance of acquiring digital skills in Wales, and to help marketers in Wales build digital into a successful marketing channel. By working alongside CIM Wales in this manner, he’s excited about overcoming the skills shortage in the country and putting Wales at the forefront of innovative digital practices.

To support his mission, Morgan is encouraging people interested in marketing to transfer their skills through GoWales placements for real-world experience, or Jobs Growth Wales for a temporary full-time position.

Liberty Marketing has had great success in hiring graduates straight out of university with minimal digital experience through the scheme, introducing graduates to a variety of digital marketing services to get a feel for the digital direction they wish to take.

Another approach to bridging the skills gap in Wales, is by lecturing the next generation of digital marketers. Providing digital knowledge and insight at University to develop their interest in the topic is key to the industry.

Early adoption of digital will deliver more candidates for recruitment into digital roles, it will make sure graduates are already on top of digital developments and keeping a keen eye on the right conversations, and ultimately will encourage innovation within the field.

Morgan says, “With over 15 years history in SEO, PPC and content marketing, I’ve seen the rise of digital marketing and just how powerful it can be for businesses and organisations looking to grow quickly and sustainably. I’ve helped many brands build digital marketing into their business strategies for the first time and then seen them develop these channels into highly-profitable and essential ones.”