The drive is being supported by senior direct marketing executives at agencies and clients across the industry, who have agreed to sit on the newly formed Education Council.
The list of council members includes Lynne Jones, head of marketing communications at Cap Gemini; Dunnhumby chief executive Edwina Dunn; Harrison Troughton Wunderman managing partner Martin Troughton; and KLP Group creative partner and head of direct marketing Mark Fiddes.
A meeting of the council reviewed the IDM's current graduate training strategy, which provides education modules at 71 out of 100 universities that provide direct marketing courses.
The IDM believes that as the industry grows, the challenges for graduates become greater and it is up to the industry to help ensure graduates are leaving university with the right skills.
The institute is also working on developing an undergraduate orientation course to help prepare them for working in their first direct marketing jobs, which will cover skills such as dealing with suppliers, campaign management and budgeting.
Kate Wilkinson, director of graduate services at the IDM, said the industry was right behind the plans.
She said: "We had an incredibly warm response from everyone who was invited to join this council. Now that we have all met I am pleased to report that everyone at the table is passionately committed to making the IDM Education Programme work for the good of the profession at large."
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