‘The first job is so important. I see so many youngsters making a mistake’
HAVING BEEN in the recruitment industry in Milton Keynes for 37 years, Sonia Coleman is as well placed as anyone to assess the standard of the new generation workforce as they leave the classrooms and lecture theatres for the final time.
She has placed staff in companies of all sizes all over Milton Keynes since opening her business D&P Recruitment in 1980. She believes that today a university degree is not the answer. “So many make the wrong choice
in going to university,” she says. “There is no point in taking a student loan, amassing a huge debt at the end of it when there is no job at the end of it.”
Education has to be geared to potential careers, she adds. “It
cannot be education for education’s sake any more. Their first job is so important and I see so many youngsters making a mistake. If they go in the wrong direction career- wise in the first four years, they will not be able to get back.” She has huge sympathy for the plight of today’s school leaver and university graduate. “Making the decision about what they want to do is really difficult. They have to focus on where they are going and focus on what they want to do. Their initial decision and their first five years of working will inspire what they do in later life.” In her business heyday, D&P Recruitment was one of the leading agencies in Milton Keynes as the city’s development reached its peak. “We were the sole agency for
Sonia Coleman Photo: JAR Photography
Abbey National for 16 years, when it was the biggest employer in Milton Keynes,” says Sonia, who also had spells on the boards of the Chamber of Commerce and Hospital Trust. She recalls the contribution of leading individuals as the business community evolved; Errol Ray, then the chief executive of Milton Keynes Council, who persuaded her to stand as a Chamber director. “He was always low profile, in the background, but he always left a good impression.” Simon Abra, then managing
director of the Milton Keynes Citizen newspaper, was “a huge influence on Milton Keynes,” she
says. “He did so much for so many people.”
As Milton Keynes has grown, its demographic has changed. So has recruitment, with company job boards and the internet meaning that the number of job seekers at any one time has soared. Sonia worries that the demographic will change further as property prices outstrip salaries and drive the next generation of workers away. “We have to come up with a way for youngsters to buy property at an affordable price. Ownership creates pride, in their property, in their work and in themselves and that makes people want to aspire to the next level.”
Kier Construction is proud to have been closely associated with the successful growth of Milton Keynes
www.kier.co.uk 01933 357511
54 Business
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