Amongst Design Graduates, many of us have discussed how we would appreciate 2021 Student Design Awards, Grad Schemes, etc opening for 2020 Grads, not just those in education at the time of an application deadline. There has been little action taken towards this, but there will never be a better time than now for those with power in the design industry to take some initiative.
I realise Covid-19 persists to affect Students and you are not getting the required level of support from the Gov, and quite possibly the very same will apply for 2021 grads, who have had a similar, albeit more-planned experience of become a creative graduate, if degree shows and access to studios remain limited and cancelled. However, 2020 Grads had to cope with the pandemic at the height of uncertainty. Countless opportunities were cancelled outright. Physical shows; lack of facility access, impacting quality and ambition of FMPs half-way through; a chance to network that surpasses letters/emails, which results in the feeling you are sitting in yet another Covid-19-slush-pile, are a handful of problems for 2020 designers' prospects.
Design will always be competitive, and I am sure many in industry are working to help; with some excellent examples springing to mind, such as Nikky Lyle providing excellent fool-proof guides to entering the design industry. However, these initiatives come at an extra costs for students that are already paying around thirty grand and a lifetime of debt, for extremely limited access and very little promise of a career. Opportunities are at an all-time-low – of course the difficulties of the current economy impact this & with the government failing both Graduates and Students and, from what I witnessed at the end of my studies, Tutors and Staff worked to the bone to support Students and those approaching Graduation; I believe those already in industry opening up established opportunities and awards and expanding these for Graduates affected by Covid-19, is a step we’re meant to take.
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