Campbell River agency Boleyn Media Group, owned by Alison and Jos Bell, hired three NIC graduates with plans on continuing to employ more students as they grow their business.
Boleyn Media Group focuses on branding, website development, digital marketing and online advertising. The agency serves local businesses and clientele across North America.
Throughout the last year, they’ve been helping companies pivot their business online, assisting clients through the pandemic and helping them succeed through e-commerce.
“We started Boleyn Media Group in 2016, and it was just Jos and I, but as we started to expand, we quickly realized we could use some help and also had enough work coming in to support another employee,” said Alison. “Since then, we’ve grown a lot, with most of our hires coming from NIC.”
Alison and Jos met Communications Design instructor Ashley Blacquiere and former NIC student Liam Quinn when they were volunteering at the Campbell River Youth Hackathon.
“We were introduced and right away we asked if Liam wanted work,” said Alison. “He hadn’t even graduated yet, but we needed the help and could see that his skills would make him a good fit.”
Quinn joined the team as a contract developer and when Boleyn Media Group grew again, they got in touch with NIC for a designer.
“We reached out to NIC again and they recommended another top student Dale Garcia for design,” said Alison. “Then, shortly after, we hired another contract designer—Jayda Loose. She’s done a fantastic job as well.”
Each addition to the team brought unique skills, worked well with the team and was able to hit the ground running, noted Alison.
“All our hires are up-to-date using the latest programs, latest techniques and skills,” said Jos. “They aren’t coming to us with outdated programs, which is really great because this industry moves so quickly.”
NIC’s DIGITAL Design + Development programs have become the Bells' first stop when they need new talent.
“We don’t see a need to look further for employees because we are getting great people who are a great fit from NIC,” said Jos. "The college has been a wonderful resource for us.”
For more on NIC’s DIGITAL +Development programs, visit www.nic.bc.ca/digital-design-development.
