A survey conducted by the organisers of the New Designers exhibition has revealed that 90% of young designers are confident of finding employment in the creative sector within one year of graduating.
The survey also found that 97% believe they are equipped with transferable skills for related sectors, 69% have undertaken industry experience before completing their course and 42% see them setting up their own business within five years.
Of the 90% who are confident of finding employment, almost half of them (46%) expect this will take the form of paid work, with another 44.5% prepared to undertake unpaid work experience.
Salary expectations are also in line with economic reality: over half of this year’s design graduates (57%), believe that they will still be earning under the national average wage of £26,500 within five years of graduating.
An optimistic 9% see themselves earning over £40,000 within this time.
Isobel Dennis, the exhibition’s director, said: “I find these results very encouraging. They are grounded, intelligent and realistic. Studying a creative degree encourages you to explore and discover what your potential is.
“Qualifying from a creative degree equips you with great skills for the working world. The nature of their structure promotes individuals to problem solve, work in shared environments, regularly critique their ideas and organise together in groups, all of which inspires creative and productive work.”
A third of those polled believed “creativity is the quality valued the most by prospective employers”, above attributes such as entrepreneurialism, experience, innovation, professionalism, communication skills and technical skills.
