• Leading marketing, public relations and event management education specialist acquired by Think: Education Group
• TThink: Education Group to expand offerings and industry links
• Plans to introduce degrees and access to FEE-HELP for APM 
• Acquisition latest step in the establishment of Think: Education Group as Australia’s leading private education group  

As part of its growth and expansion strategy, Think: Education Group announced today its acquisition of the APM Training Institute. Sydney-based APM is a leading specialist provider of marketing, public relations and event management education. Founded in 1987, APM has experienced significant growth through the provision of accredited courses approved by key industry bodies. For Think: Education Group, APM represents the latest in a series of planned acquisitions, which commenced with the acquisition of the Billy Blue group of education and training companies in November 2006. The company plans to establish Australia’s leading private education and training group.  

After leading the organisation for ten years, APM’s Executive Director Alan Kuczynski will continue to work with Think: Education Group in a consulting capacity. Paul Dumble, currently APM’s General Manager, will take the lead in managing the business.  Mark Rohald, Think: Education Group's CEO, and Anthony Böhm, director of Think: Education Group and CEO of the Billy Blue Group will join the board of APM.  

Mark Rohald, CEO of Think: Education Group, said APM was a natural choice to join the Think: Education Group stable. “APM has firmly established itself as one of the leading vocational training organisations and Think: Education Group saw the potential to expand APM’s offerings with the addition of degree courses and FEE-HELP. In addition, APM’s marketing and media specialties are a good fit with our existing expertise in multimedia and creative communications.”  

Outgoing APM Executive Director Alan Kuczynski said: “Think: Education Group is able to provide extensive expertise in compliance and accreditation, back office systems and human and financial resources - all of which are required to help drive our growth going forward.  Their experience in the area of Higher Education will be important to the future growth and development of APM.   

“Through their ownership of the Billy Blue Group, we see tremendous synergies both from an educational and a commercial perspective.  In the future, our students will have a far greater range of courses to choose from and access to group-wide facilities to enhance their learning experience. Think: Education Group shares a similar vision, in particular, a commitment to delivering exceptional graduate outcomes through teaching excellence.”      

Mr Rohald added: “The acquisition of APM marks an important milestone in achieving our stated objective of becoming Australia’s leading private education group.  By bringing Billy Blue and APM into the Think: Education Group, we have made significant progress towards achieving our strategic objective of consolidating high quality education providers in the media, creative and communications education space.    

“It is our intention to retain all of APM’s dedicated team who have been a critical factor in its success to date, and who have created its unique and dynamic culture. In addition, we will be working closely with industry stakeholders to ensure our offerings reflect their constantly evolving needs. At a group level, there are already new programs in development which will only add to APM’s already excellent reputation.    

“The introduction of degrees and FEE-HELP in our other colleges has led to considerable growth. Our ability to leverage our higher education resources and expertise significantly enhances the growth opportunities of APM.  Furthermore, there are extensive operational synergies between APM and our other operations.”  

Currently, APM offers accredited Diploma and Advanced Diploma programs in Marketing, Public Relations, Event Management, Sports Management, Entertainment and Music Management, Advertising and Digital & Interactive Marketing.       

For more information, please contact:   Mark Rohald, 0433 166 949 Susan Redden Makatoa, 0403 870 383