A recently established UK-based design team was having difficulty recruiting the right graduates for its roles through the shallow pool of contacts of its design managers. Plan was asked to help broaden the team’s recruitment approach and foster a series of relationships for the long term.

We began by mapping the knowledge and skills the team viewed as prerequisites for new recruits in different graduate positions, to create a ‘graduate capability framework’. Using our knowledge of a wide range of design courses across Europe, we then mapped institutions against the team’s key framework and drew up a shortlist of courses worth developing links with.

After programming a series of visits and introductions scheduled around graduation exhibitions, we helped the team and tutors agree a mutually beneficial programme of collaboration including visiting lectures by staff, summer internships for junior students and potential project collaborations.