The recent uplift in the economy means there’s never been a better time to invest in fresh talent. And I’m a firm believer that graduates are not just the lifeblood of any business, but they’re also critical to agency growth – both creatively and financially.

When the economic downturn hit the UK in 2008, many agencies cut 

grad programmes

. While you can sort of understand the thinking, I’ve always taken the longer-term view: if we don’t invest in junior talent now, where will the middleweights be when things turn round a few years’ later?

Of course, it’s not just the future where graduates play their part.

Young people bring excellent new energy and fresh ideas, and in an agency environment, that’s essential.

I think that an employee will be most successful if you nurture and grow them from the beginning. Young talent fires up everyone in the agency and, in turn, inspires more senior creative teams to keep pushing themselves forwards – learning the freshest techniques, mastering the newest media and, above all, creating cutting-edge ideas.

Of course, as the way we deliver our messages continues to change (hello social, how you doing digital?), it’s even more important to have the right talent in place. And the younger people have the ambition and creative flair to grab the changes, grow with them and uncover new ways of using them best.

So although a classical marketing education shouldn’t be forgotten, I believe those just emerging from university, or starting out on their career path, will provide the most benefit as the marketing world continues to change.