Solving Graduate Design Employment Problems

Today Mekon Learning, one of London’s leading creative IT training companies, announces an initiative with Carshalton College’s Multimedia Design School to address the problems creative and multimedia designers face in gaining employment after their studies.

The scheme, which is the first of its kind in the UK creative IT training industry hopes to embed the creative IT expertise of Mekon Learning within the design school and forge relationships between Mekon Learning’s customers and the young designers.

Although extremely gifted, many graduates lack the crucial ‘hands-on’ experience and knowledge of solving marketing communications problems employers demand. As a result a graduate designer is seen as a relatively long term investment rather than an asset capable of generating immediate business. Many graduates also lack the necessary knowledge of the latest creative IT applications used in industry.

"We are the first to do this, I just hope others follow our lead. There is a huge amount of talent waiting to be unlocked, all these students need is a chance to say ‘I have worked on a live brief, I have helped solve real marketing communications problems, I have added real value to an organisation!.’...a company like Mekon Learning is ideally placed to help"
States Julian Murfitt Mekon Learning’s Managing Director

Mekon Learning will be encouraging its customers to set live briefs for the students to help solve their communications problems. With this, students will have commercially proven work to add to their portfolios and evidence of understanding vital issues such as branding, accountability, working to a brief and managing the ‘client-agency’ relationship.

The best work will be used by the Mekon Learning customer setting the ‘live brief’. Mekon Learning will also be showcasing the work to its customer base as part of its marketing communications efforts. Further, students who demonstrate excellence in creative thinking and use of creative IT applications will be given promotional support to help their employability.


Carshalton College Principal, Dr David Watkins, "This opportunity gives our students a chance to work on 'real world' briefs and exposes them to potential employers. This is a perfect example of academic and commercial collaboration."

More info go to
http://www.mekon-learning.com/Unlocking_Talent

Contact
Lee Powney Joanne Keep
Mekon Ltd Carshalton College
0208 722 8400 020 8544 4557
lee.powney@mekon.com joanne.keep@carshalton.ac.uk

About Mekon-Learning
Mekon Learning is a specialist team of authorised Adobe, Macromedia, Quark and Quadralay IT training experts dedicated to one goal: unlocking creative and technical potential in our customer's businesses. To unlock staff potential we apply a simple rule: ‘The most effective training is relevant training’. We believe this is what makes Mekon Learning different from the multitude of ‘off the shelf’ training courses available just about anywhere. This is where Mekon Learning can make a difference. Our ‘Relevance’ approach allows our customers to repeatedly enjoy the high return on investment rates that we are dedicated to achieving.

About Carshalton College
Carshalton College has a reputation for being forward thinking, innovative and dynamic. Courses and facilities are available to a wide range of potential students. Over the years Carshalton has made considerable investment in course provision and facilities. We believe that we offer the flexibility and choice in study at the college to mean that there really is something for everyone here at Carshalton.