We’ve heard from a design group and an agency, what about a designer?

Having read David Rose’s letter (DW 9 February) and Peter Cook’s response (DW 16 February), I felt that the only voice left to be aired is that of a young designer.

I had to find my own placement year as part of my course back in 1997/1998; I tried every small design consultancy under the sun, and placed an ad in Design Week. Each time with the same result: “Sorry we are simply too small to accommodate you”.

Perhaps with more Government funding we could see the link between higher education and small design groups fully used, giving young designers hands on experience.

Unless the design world opens its doors and starts to invest in young talent, all the job vacancies for middleweights in the future will remain open for a long time.

Having got that vital one year’s experience, I find myself back on the shelf with many young hopefuls. So who do I go to for advice? Recruitment consultancies, graduate recruitment schemes or do I join the bottom of that very long list and start cold-calling companies all over again?

Steve Brewer

stevewb123@hotmail.com