O2 Academy has been accredited by the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria, ARCON, as a Professional Diploma Certificate in Advertising awarding institution and operate as an examination centre for the regulatory body.
Confirming this development, the provost of the institution, Ozone Mbanefo, who expressed appreciation for the recognition and opportunity to collaborate with the regulatory body in human capacity building, stated that with the professional diploma certificate, trainees become ARCON registered members.
“When we got the news that we have been accredited to function as an ARCON accredited examination centre. I felt very proud of my country because it is like recognising that you are doing something right and empowering you to do more. When that recognition came, I knew someone was watching and was telling the truth about what O2 is doing.
“What they told us was that they have watched us for years and they have seen how we have consistently delivered capacity building for the past fifteen years and that it was on that premise that the Council decided to make us an ARCON examination centre and at the same time give us approval to now award PDA certification to our graduates. It means that when a person comes to O2 and writes the PDA exam in our centre, the person gets awarded the PDA certification and that authorizes him or her to practise as a certified advertising practitioner,” he said.
According to him, alumni of the school can leverage this opportunity to become ARCON certified by upgrading and participating in the professional exams.
“As an alumnus that has received the Total Brand Experience, (TBE) who wants to upgrade to the new ARCON PDA certification, you will have to sit in for the ARCON certification which is happening at O2 Academy examination centre, because we are now APCON examination centre. So, when you sit in for that exam and of course you pay your examination fee, you get your certification on the day of induction,” he revealed.
While harping on the importance of capacity building, Ozone Mbanefo urged all to take advantage of the opportunity to develop life-changing skills that can be deployed into useful and productive ventures.
O2 Academy is a hands-on school of Brand communication and advertising that currently offers courses in strategy, copywriting, and digital marketing among others. For over fourteen years, the school has become a resource pool where creative agencies source outstanding talents in the Integrated Marketing Communication Industry.
Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator and a recipient of the D9112 Superstar Icon Award, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.
