Successful Support for Young Talent in the Design and Advertising World: A Win-Win-Win Situation for Students, Universities and Agencies

In my own experience, I completed three years of vocational training and studied for five years. Back then it was still a Diplom degree programme with a different study concept. Nowadays, young people often study for just three years before being released straight into the job market. Some continue their studies and obtain a master's degree. However, changed social conditions and approaches to education mean that many graduates may not yet have the professional maturity required to move seamlessly into a career.

Talking for hours about the shortage of young talent without changing anything is not very productive. Instead, employers should take action and consider how they can support schools and universities in order to find suitable young talent. That is why I was happy to accept the invitation from the Design Department at Hochschule Düsseldorf in January to take part in the so-called “Checkout”.

At the Checkout, experienced creative minds from various Düsseldorf agencies give students feedback on their portfolios and answer specific questions about starting their careers. This format not only gives students orientation, but also offers agencies the opportunity to receive direct feedback on the requirements and wishes of the students.

Last Saturday morning at the Checkout was extremely rewarding and insightful for me. Our proximity to the university, both physical (we are only one kilometre as the crow flies from the HSD) and intellectual, helps us enormously to maintain regular exchange with the professors. This is not only valuable for all parties, but ultimately even represents a competitive advantage for us. The open exchange allows us to get involved in the recruiting process early on and possibly even to give the university useful input, so that the training becomes even more practice-oriented and therefore more valuable for the students.

It is important to stress that recruiting has become much more complex and demanding than ever, which makes early engagement essential. In the best case, through close cooperation with universities in conversations and projects, we as an agency can communicate our requirements for our industry even better and thus help ensure that students are better prepared for the demands of practice. Ultimately, this results in a win-win-win situation for the university, the students and our agency, and indeed for all creative service providers in Düsseldorf and the region.

I am already looking forward to the next semester and to continuing to actively contribute to supporting creative young talent.