Abstract:

Education is an important factor when it comes to joining the labour market, and a person’s training process takes place throughout their lifetime and not just over a certain period of time. In this context, there is a need to research the level of education and training of those in employment. An analysis of the advertising sector could prove particularly interesting, given that the communication industry is one of the most characteristic sectors of the Information and Knowledge Society
The main objective of this study is to understand the evolution of the training of advertising workers and to find out whether there are any differences in the level of education and courses attended when it comes to the personal and occupational characteristics of the participants. In order to achieve the proposed objectives, we carried out two studies using the technique of the questionnaire. These questionnaires were completed by employees of the advertising sector in 2004 and 2010, working with organisations that are part of the Spanish Association of Advertising and Communication Agencies. In particular, we selected companies located in Madrid, with more than 15 employees and a creative department. A total of 482 people participated in the research: 179 in the first data collection (113 women and 66 men) and 303 in the second data collection (202 women and 101 men).
The research results show that there are no statistically significant differences in the level of education of advertising workers in terms of the period analysed, with university level education being the most common in both periods of time. With regards to training courses, it should be noted that, in the two periods analysed, a considerable percentage of workers had attended training courses in the past five years. In addition, there are no statistically significant differences in the number of courses taken on information technology, languages and specialisations. However, in some cases, the personal and occupational characteristics of advertising workers – sex, age, years of employment in the advertising industry and department in which the employee works – present statistically significant differences in the two periods analysed when it comes their level of education and taking certain training courses. Despite this data, it is not common to find statistically significant differences in the position of advertising workers in terms of their training. Thus, we can conclude that, in some cases, personal and occupational characteristics have an impact on the level of education and training.