Students studying a BA in Graphic Design for Print and New Media at Dunstable College have been invited to submit entries for The Shelf – a national creative awards competition. The Shelf is opening its invitation to graduating creatives from a wide pool of universities for the very first time. Judged by a panel of leading Creative DIrectors, The Shelf helps to bridge the gap from graduation to employment.
Celeste Henney, Course Leader, comments:
“It is often the first initial contact with agencies that students most struggle with so I didn’t hesitate to encourage my students to enter The Shelf Awards. Any industry is a good one and the chance to network with graduates and leading creatives is always a valued prize to any competition.”
Founded seven years ago by Gary Sharpen, Executive Creative Director of WDMP, a leading advertising agency, The Shelf is now run with MajorPlayers – the UK’s number one creative recruiter – and offers a huge career boost for the winning graduates. It was established as a way of uncovering and supporting the best in young creative talent, by helping to channel it into some of the best creative agencies.
The closing date for submissions was the start of May. Entries will be judged by a panel of leading Creative Directors who will select six teams. These will then be invited to attend a special awards ceremony on 3 July 2008 at the unique “Under the Westway” members' bar in Westbourne Studios. Those who make the shortlist will have the opportunity to showcase a range of their work, with the opportunity to meet leading Creative Directors as well as other industry experts. Importantly, they will also have the chance to secure work placements at top agencies – a vital step towards full-time employment.
The evening will conclude with the awarding of The Shelf, which will have been decided by votes from the guests on the night. The overall winners will receive The Shelf, which is so called because upon it the young creatives will be able to place the future awards they are sure to gather throughout their careers.
Gary Sharpen comments:
“Extending the reach of The Shelf will enable us to seek out and support even more fantastic young creative talent. Through The Shelf we aim to make the leap from college to the industry a positive and well structured one. This benefits both the individual creatives and the future of our industry. Thanks to the excellent support of MajorPlayers we are aiming to support more and more bright prospects.”
Rachel Gott, Divisional Head of Creative at MajorPlayers, added:
“It’s a real privilege for MajorPlayers to work alongside Gary Sharpen – a real innovator within the creative industry whose heart for encouraging new talent resonates strongly with our own. As the UK’s number one creative recruiter, MajorPlayers constantly looks for ways to support the industries that we recruit into and The Shelf Awards are a really fantastic opportunity for graduates looking to get a leg up into their first creative role within one of the top marketing or advertising agencies.”
This event is one of a series of creative and marketing industry events to be held this year by MajorPlayers. As well as supporting the industries MajorPlayers recruits into, the programme of events reflects one of the company’s founding principles – that a candidate’s career history is a journey in which a recruiter should play a constructive ongoing part. MajorPlayers sees these networking events as an opportunity to feed the talent in the industry rather than prey on them.
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