Future Skills experience with Unilever helps shape Kingston University student’s visual merchandising career ambitions

Antonio Bourophael began his fine art degree at Kingston University confident in his creativity, but unsure where it might lead after graduation. That began to shift as he engaged with the University’s Future Skills programme, giving him the tools to understand how he could apply his creative talents within industry. 

Ahead of his graduation ceremony this month, Antonio reflected on how the experiences of working directly on a Future Skills live brief with Unilever inspired his passion for working with brands – as he prepares to take his first steps into a visual merchandising career.

“Working with such a large company was intimidating at first, but it gave me a real insight into how creative projects work in industry,” he said. “The project had lots of specific requirements and professional expectations, so learning how to work within those constraints has prepared me for future creative briefs and given me a much better understanding of what working with industry will be like.”

Embedded as a taught and assessed part of every year of every undergraduate degree, the University’s sector leading Future Skills programme is designed to help students develop key graduate attributes such as collaboration, adaptability and creative problem solving through employer experiences including mentoring, live briefs and mock assessment centres that simulate the graduate recruitment process.

As part of Apply, the final phase of the programme, Antonio had the opportunity to pitch for an art commission at Unilever’s new UK headquarters in Kingston town centre – and, after impressing company bosses, his work is now on display in the building’s main foyer, open to the wider public, staff and visitors. “It was amazing seeing my work up,” he said. “I’d only ever seen my work in studio or gallery spaces before, so seeing it in a corporate environment was really validating.”

The experience also reinforced his ambition to work with brands in a commercial creative context, particularly in areas such as retail design and visual merchandising. “I hadn't realised how many different people were involved – from architects and designers to everyone responsible for bringing the building together. It was really inspiring to think that’s something I could become involved in professionally.”

Developing the human-centric skills for career success

For Antonio, developing his Future Skills alongside his subject-specific learning provided a structured way to reflect on his abilities and understand how his creative strengths could be applied beyond the classroom. “Each phase of the programme made me think more about how to adapt to different challenges or opportunities, and how I could really utilise the skills I was building in my course. It also encouraged me to research the industry I want to work in and reflect on what I can offer and how to articulate that effectively to employers.” 
Aside from the project with Unilever, one of the most valuable elements of the programme for Antonio was the mentoring, which offered personalised guidance tailored to his individual goals. 

Now graduating with an honours degree in fine art, Antonio outlined how Future Skills had been a key part of his development – not only in building employability skills, but in helping him understand his direction. As his confidence grew, Antonio began applying his learning more directly to career opportunities and found his calling in visual merchandising. He’s now secured his first role and is looking forward to creating brand-led creative work across retail environments and physical spaces.

“Future Skills provided the space to focus on the skills I needed for the career I want to follow. I was supported to reflect on my strengths and the areas I needed to develop, and that gave me much more confidence when applying for jobs. Having the opportunity to work directly with employers also helped me realise how much I enjoyed working with brands, and now I’m excited to get started with my career after graduation.”