Onward Search Inc, a nationwide provider of search marketing professionals, has announced it will begin offering education reimbursement to its candidates in an effort to fight the national shortage of search marketing professionals. Onward Search's primary objective is to make training and career development more accessible for professionals looking to enter the industry.

Onward Search specializes in sourcing and providing search engine marketers, social media experts, and related internet and technology professionals, who can act as interim staff, project consultants, or subject-matter experts for Fortune 1000 companies and agencies. The company will be exhibiting at this month's ad:tech conference and will be providing information to search marketing professionals around how to develop their careers in the search industry.

"We continue to face a shortage of qualified, trained search marketing professionals, and it is imperative we promote training as a means to grow the supply of new talent in our industry," said Ken Clark, executive vice president and co-founder of Onward Search. "Our clients, in particular, are increasingly looking for candidates who have completed formal training programs and certifications as they grow their search marketing teams."

As part of Onward Search's program, professionals will be able to earn up to $1200 towards education reimbursement each year. For every three months a professional works with Onward they will earn $300, up to $1200 per year, which can be used for continuing education. Professionals will be able to use these funds to attend trade show conferences, take certification exams and any other activities that would promote career development.

One of Onward Search's premier educational alliances is with the SEMPO Institute, the educational arm of the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO). The SEMPO Institute provides an array of training options for professionals in the search marketing industry. "Both SEMPO and the SEMPO Institute are focused on expanding the pool of talent that our members, both agency and in-house, can utilize to meet the growing demand in search marketing," said Jeffrey Pruitt, president of SEMPO. "We view search marketing as a growth career and affiliations such as this are key to how our organization is able to help its members."

"We are excited to work with organizations such as the SEMPO Institute to promote search marketing as a career option," added Clark. "We want to provide professionals with as many avenues as possible to increasing their qualifications and skills in this growing industry."

About Onward Search:

Onward Search is a leading nationwide provider of search engine marketers, social media experts, and related internet and technology professionals to Fortune 1000 companies and internet marketing agencies. The company was founded by Kevin Clark and Ken Clark and has the financial backing of Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, one of the nation's largest private equity firms. It is headquartered in Wilton, CT.

About SEMPO Institute: SEMPO Institute is a non-profit, on-line career development organization, whose purpose is to educate and train professionals in the growing field of search engine marketing. Supported by SEMPO, SEMPO Institute's courses are developed by experts in search marketing and then peer-reviewed for accuracy and best practices. Since its first course in January of 2007, SEMPO Institute has educated more than 600 individuals in search marketing. SEMPO Institute's courses are available to SEMPO members and the general public.

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