Ravensbourne’s Derek Yates: we need challengers, not “job-shaped graduate robots”

Derek Yates, Associate Professor and Head of Industry Integration & Curriculum Development at Ravensbourne University London

Starting a creative career over the next three years will depend on how well we address the well-documented gap between graduation and a first job. Entry-level tasks are being automated, and most employers have neither the time nor the budget to train new starters. There is, therefore, pressure on educators like me to find out what industry requires and train students to fit that template.

Thirty years of supporting young people into our industries tells me that kind of quick fix is not the answer. Our industries are at their best when they trust the challenge graduates bring, particularly in a time of technology-driven transformation. The founders of this platform, Will and Alex, are proof of this. ‘It’s Nice That’, and everything built around it, grew out of the questions they asked the industry when they first entered it. The questions we face now are even more complex, which is why we need to encourage the next generation’s challenge and trust their desire for change.

Bridging the gap between graduation and professional effectiveness is a responsibility we all share, and it demands an open, direct conversation between education and industry. Around the country, there are examples of proactive collaborations that show the way. In Norwich, Andy Judd’s ‘Bold Voices’ brings students, lecturers, technicians and practitioners together for experimentation, shared learning and queer expression. In Manchester, Alec Dudson has developed ‘Wear Abouts’ – a student-led podcast of critical discussions about current practice in fashion. At Kingston, Zoe Bather is connecting students with local communities to explore how speculative design can imagine a more sustainable future. And at Ravensbourne, our partnership with Uncommon Creative Studio has enabled 24 students from seven courses to take over a floor of the studio’s London base, working in teams alongside staff to find purpose-driven solutions (read more about Chloe Berry's experience on CLIP here).

All these projects immerse the students in real challenges that disrupt the educational hierarchy. Students work across disciplines and alongside industry, building connections. They are trusted to initiate, propose and challenge, building the resilience they will need to navigate an uncertain future. My prediction is that the graduates who critically question and are brave enough to propose an alternative will be the ones who thrive – not job-shaped graduate robots.