Bayeza: Breaking boundaries

The Boomtown Bayeza internship programme achieved a 100% employment rate for its 2018 graduates, and it’s looking to recruit talent for 2019.

In its seventh year, Boomtown is looking to take on five graduates to expose them to the magic of the ad world, and mould them into outstanding, employable advertising professionals who can break boundaries.

Bayeza started in 2012 with one graphic design intern, Pola Maneli, a talented individual who has gone on to win two gold Loeries and went on to work for one of the best advertising agencies in South Africa. And since then talent has continually filtered through Bayeza and risen through the Boomtown ranks or taken up employment elsewhere in the industry.

Boomtown is looking for graduates who have studied fields relating to the advertising industry to work in various agency departments: creative, client services and strategy.

How Bayeza works

Rather than running an internship programme where individuals are seen as junior staff, Boomtown runs a specific year-long program with each intern having month by month modules specific to their area of expertise and study. “In this way, we fast track the interns, and they learn more in one year than most junior employees learn in two," adds Boomtown MD, Andrew MacKenzie.

This specific training also makes the interns highly sought-after from an employment perspective and Boomtown is tremendously proud that to date it has achieved a 100% success rate in employment once the interns graduate from Bayeza. “We have employed the majority of these individuals as part of our growth strategy, and others have gone on to be part of reputable companies across South Africa,” says MacKenzie. “The programme is also differentiated in that it is not a 'free from pay' internship. Each is salaried over and above the dedicated and specific training they receive.”

The Bayeza programme not only answers to the needs of our business and a concerted effort to build on our employment equity but also responds to the drive around skills development and more importantly, is changing the lives of the individuals who complete the programme immeasurably.

How to apply

Graduates interested in applying for a Bayeza internship should send a covering letter, CV and a portfolio of work if a creative to az.oc.nwotmoob@sreerac.