Graduates are victims of the bums on seats scheme

So Reuben Wakeman thinks design consultancies don’t give graduates a chance (Letters, DW 13 November). Nothing is further from the truth.

Our company and hundreds like us spend hours with work experience people every year. This is despite the fact that we are not charities and have to make a living. Helping students and unemployed graduates out has to come low on our priority list.

Chances are most consultants already have a placement student making the tea, job-shadowing and so on. But I have an idea.

Every design business should take on another work experience graduate. This would be the ideal person to write, politely and individually, ‘Thanks, but no thanks’ letters to the deluge of job applicants we get every day.

Seriously, working designers have a great deal of sympathy for the plight of young talent. It has always been difficult to get a job in design – but there is no point blaming us.

Young people are being sold a lie by some universities, that have to fulfil the Government’s well-meaning, but poorly focused policy of increasing the supply of graduates.

If all the colleges were totally up front about job prospects in design for their graduates, many courses would have few or no applicants.

Then maybe we wouldn’t see quite as many unhappy letters in Design Week.

Alistair Williamson

Director

Lucid Group

Manchester M1 7AD