Job Search: COURSE WORK!

Byline: CAROLINE WHEELER

GETTING a job may not be every student's first priority when they begin a new term at university.

But after they've met their new flatmates and supped a few pints in their local, thousands of them will be looking for a part-time job to earn the term's beer money.

Carrie Bishop, vice-president of welfare at Birmingham University, says that more and more students have to find work during term-time to fund their time at university.

'The abolition of the student grant and the introduction of tuition fees has resulted in a high level of student hardship,' she explains.

'Students, who cannot always rely on parental support, now have to find a way to earn enough money to pay the bills without disrupting their learning experience.

'That is why we provide numerous welfare services including Job Zone.'

Job Zone helps students find part-time jobs that won't interfere with their studies and will provide them with valuable work experience.

Keren Coney, the supervisor of Job Zone, says: 'It's an employment service that is like a job centre exclusively for students.

'We carefully select jobs that are suitable for students and make sure employers pay the minimum wage and don't require them to work more than 15 hours a week.

'Job Zone also tries to match the job with the person.

'We encourage students to take jobs that will look good on their CVs and perhaps be something they are interested in pursuing as a career.'

Advertised

Job Zone, which was set up two years ago, has since gone from strength to strength.

Keren says it's now visited by more than 2,500 students each year - more than 10 per cent of the university's population.

She adds that 15,000 vacancies have now been advertised - 14,000 more than they ever anticipated.

The positions vary widely and include jobs in the care sector, as internet designers and as broadcast journalists.

Job Zone has an arrangement with more than 700 local employers including Marks & Spencer, Rackhams and the HSBC bank.

Run by Keren and a group of five students, it is open from 11am to 3pm Monday to Friday during term-time and 12pm until 2pm throughout the university's holidays.

WANT MORE INFO?

For more information, students are invited to call in or register on-line at www.bugs.bham.ac.uk/welfare/jobzone.

Other universities in the Midlands also provide similar services including UCE, Aston and Warwick.

UCE has a Job Bureau, Aston has a Job Shop and Warwick has Unitemps - its own campus-based temping agency.

For more information about these services, students should contact a representative in the Guild of Students or consult the university's website on www.uce.ac.uk, www.aston.ac.uk or www.warwick.ac.uk.

CAPTION(S):

KEREN CONEY... supervisor of Job Zone