Worrying trend with Universities

[steveroberts 10]

This first bit is aimed mainly at employers.

 

With the Universities funding under threat, we have noted a worrying trend regarding Universities offering services provided by the private sector.

 

For example, Sheffield Hallam University have an in house design business that competes directly with my own business; and this trend is spreading into the areas of graphic, branding and web design too.

 

We, and other UK design companies, are now taking a stand on this:

 

1) We will not take placement students from such Universities as we are concerned that client confidential information will find its way back to the offending University

2) We will not employ people from those Universities as we believe they should be offered jobs by the University within the business they have set up to compete with my business

 

To Students:

 

If you are studying at such offending Universities, this should be of some concern (however we do hope you understand why we are having to take such a stand); do you think it would help 6th formers if we contacted the career departments at schools highlighting this to help students, in their decision making, when choosing the University they want to go to; to study Product/Industrial Design.

[indizine 10]

I agree - uni's should stick to what they are suppsoed to do and not offered paid services t compete with the very companies they expect to place students in.

[Tradescanthia 10]

Uni's have always worked this way, in engineering, medicine etc. Whats new ??

[tom3t0 10]

Sheffield Hallam Poly-tek-mik

Edited March 19, 2010 by tom3t0

[unknown_sole 10]

Universitys tend to run like businesses now inorder to raise extra finaces. With all the conferences, presentations ect they have it seems sence to offer in house catering, printing, av hire ect

[indizine 10]

Yes they do, but Steve is pointing out that in competing with local businesses they still want these same local businesses to take on their students.

[anywebsite 10]

Sounds a bit like cutting off your nose to spite your face to me. Why would you ever impose restrictions on your business in protest against this?

 

Your competitors will be taking on staff & students on placement from these universities. It's likely that those Universities that you're competing with will be one of the best sources of skilled staff.

 

There is a cost to having a good education system, this is one of them. Without good universities in this country, you wouldn't be able to get the skilled staff that you need as a business, so the benefits outweigh the costs.

[steveroberts 10]

Sounds a bit like cutting off your nose to spite your face to me. Why would you ever impose restrictions on your business in protest against this?

 

Your competitors will be taking on staff & students on placement from these universities. It's likely that those Universities that you're competing with will be one of the best sources of skilled staff.

 

There is a cost to having a good education system, this is one of them. Without good universities in this country, you wouldn't be able to get the skilled staff that you need as a business, so the benefits outweigh the costs.

 

For larger coporates, I'd agree with you, however for smaller companies, this is becoming a real threat. Based on the business we have lost to Universities, I'd say, at least, two new potential full time design employee positions have not been created in the last year...and these are jobs which would have been filled by graduates from those offending Universities.

 

It is worth rememebering that most jobs are created in smaller businesses and this will be the same for graduates.

 

Within the product design sector, this is starting to no longer be the case; the bigger practices are starting to see the threat and are embargoing certain University students from placement places.

 

Some of us want to extend this campaign into other design sectors including branding/marketing/graphics/engineering etc

 

If you are/know of any design businesses that feel the same, please ask them to get in touch with me at Fripp Design and Research.

 

.

[silver_surfer 10]

Surely this is just a case of competition, any company can diversify if they feel they can make a mark in that industry and it is in their interests?

[steveroberts 10]

Except Universities do not bear the commercial risks taken by the private sector, their risk is underwritten by the tax payer...if only mine was (maybe I should become a bank )

 

I love competition as it makes sure you constantly give value for money to customers and keeps you and your team on their toes...but the competition has to be based on a level and fair playing field; that is my point.

[anywebsite 10]

Well, students graduate. The universities are constantly working with inexperienced students & training them up. That should make it easier for a company with experienced staff to compete.

 

The students that graduate from these universities are probably going to be among the best graduates that you could hire, they've already got experience of working in your industry & competing with you. Refusing to take these graduates on because of a political disagreement with the university they went to is only going to hurt your business & the graduates themselves, it's not going to affect the university.

 

The problem would be if they were undercutting market rates by using government subsidies & free labour. If that's going on, you should protest about that, but there are some benefits in allowing Universities to compete with the private sector. You shouldn't protest in a way that's going to cause harm to your own business either.

Edited March 21, 2010 by anywebsite

[steveroberts 10]

But my point is; if I'm losing business to them, I won't be in a position to employ their graduates; as I mention, there are 2 design jobs we have not created becasue of unfair business lost (in fact our last designer to be employed is from India; BTW the reason we employed an Indian national rather than a UK national was down to the quality of their application...now this is a post subject all of its own:().

 

By unfair I mean:

 

1) Not having to charge VAT on invoices i.e. for non vat registered customers a 17.5% price advantage over the private sector

2) Certain Universities can offer up to 11 days free design (this includes web design); bet you're glad that nobody knows about this because Universities are hopeless at marketing

3) All their operating costs (rent/salaries) etc are funded from the Universities central funds

4) All their capital equipment costs are funded from the University are grants

 

BTW, these same Universities are doing web/marketing/brand design too; many of them doing it for free...given there are many more students doing web/marketing/brand design than industrial design, this should be a worry to the larger design community too.

 

I appreciate that your business might not be capital intensive, like mine (and, for many web designers, they run their businesses from home so do not have the rent/employment costs that I have too) and you are not seeing them as a threat yet; however, for certain design businesses (and, at this stage, I'm talking more about businesses employing 10+ people who are working/bidding for larger contracts with established businesses and organisations); University displacement is a real concern.

 

To be honest, for my business, I'm not really that fussed as we are about to launch 3 of our own products to market, so there will be less dependence on doing client design work, but for those more entrepreneurial designers coming out of University, setting up their own design businesses...they're in for a nasty shock!

 

As I'm passionate about free enterprise and entrepreneurship, I (and a number of design companies like mine) are taking a stand on this for the good of those very designers coming out of University who are either, looking for quality work or want to set up their own design practice.