Comments on: When the Recession Lifts

By: SirBigWig

SirBigWig — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 03:19:49 +0000

I think at lot of large companies choose to hire in-house digital staff on the assumption that it is cheaper than paying for SEO management, PPC etc. However, when you hire an SEO agency you are in effect buying into their IP, ability, ideas etc. This may not be replicated when you recruit one or two employees. Also agencies tend to keep up with new developments, trends, discussion, etc better than hiring one or two in house employees. Finally when you hire A PPC person or A SEO consultant, you only have one persons ideas, opinions, way of doing things etc.

Many decisions that come out of an agency for clients are based on previous internal discussions, reasoning, comparisons, judgments – something that will be lost when you hire in house staff – unless you build an entire team.

By: Phil Cookson

Phil Cookson — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:46:23 +0000

I've had some dealings with MMU recently and discussing ways to bring the university and employers in the creative industries together, the dearth of skilled graduates for the digital sector is already quite marked and i'm afraid as demand for digital keeps growing this is only going to get worse. Even IF they have the right courses with the right content and IF they fill them with students, it will be another 3-4 years before these people get into the workforce, therefore, I think in the short term the emphasis must be on agencies getting more involved with the training and developing of graduates.

By: mikecarter

mikecarter — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:15:38 +0000

David is doing some excellent work in this area. He's working hard to deliver the courses that we need but employers need to bear in mind the University's are very large organisations with complex planing structures, as such movement is slow.

A prominent point here is that graduates are queuing up to do Art and Design and Graphics, but the Uni's have real difficulties filling harder more technical courses. There are a huge number of graphic design graduates currently studying that have no Digital skills at all and won't be taught any.

As for Client side pinching good agency people, they will. however lets not forget that agency people like variety and often have specialties that only work when scaled over many accounts, whilst client side will offer better salaries and security only the really big brands would pose any real threat.

Culturally, even with an enlightened corporate employer, the two sides are miles apart from Fudge to Moneyexpert, i doubt it.

By: Jamie Clouting

Jamie Clouting — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 16:14:29 +0000

You make a good point James. I was lucky enough to spend my time at university working part time for a digital firm in Manchester and when it came to placement time I took a year out and got some great experience in the field. I think Dave is right, we need to motivate our lecturers to promote placements, students to take them and agencies to offer them in the first place.

MMU have been doing some great work with their ProDev days, that they will be running for the 3rd successive year in November. I'd urge firms to get involved. As far as I'm aware Kellogg's won't be there – so this is a great opportunity for local firms to get along and get access to the next wave of graduates.

By: David Edmundson-Bird

David Edmundson-Bird — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 15:44:22 +0000

Yes - as you note we are in for some very interesting times.

So - very simply and as nicely as possible as I can say it - work WITH us to get solutions to this problem.

But bear in mind some things.

1 - Someone's got to persuade students to study on these programmes: they're not coming because they are perceived as hard/no fun/ephemeral so it's time to influence school teachers

2 - Firms have to provide experience opportunities: most digital firms do not offer paid placements, paid internships, 1 day a week jobs. Pay the same money as they do in supermarkets or pubs

3 - Get involved in your local university. Teach on a course, adopt a lecturer, sponsor a prize, don't back out of a guest lecture at the last minute, take a lecturer into your business for a week over summer

4 - University learning is about to get a whole lot more expensive for the paying customer

5 - Ignore this at your peril and watch the buiness go offshore to less talented, less reputable firms far, far away