Students left scrambling for vacancies

DON SCOTT/Fairfax NZ

TOO SLOW: School leaver Patrick Di Somma has applied for several jobs but says they are filled as quickly as they appear.

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Students are having difficulties finding summer holiday jobs.

Student Job Search national sales manager Dean Jervis said most employers listed holiday jobs in September so they could secure students for their summer demands.

Since September, 23,759 jobs had been listed, he said.

Patrick Di Somma, 18, who has just completed high school, said he had been looking for a job "for a wee while".

"I've sent out quite a few applications. None of them have really worked out," he said.

"They say all the time the job has been taken. Unless you answer the ad very early, the job will be taken."

He had had a job lined up, but after the December 23 earthquakes the building he was to work in was considered unsafe so he had to look for another job.

He said he mostly looked for work through websites such as Trade Me and Student Job Search.

He said employers did not want to hire workers just for the summer.

Third-year University of Canterbury College of Education student Nicky Hebberd also said she found it hard to get a holiday job.

She mainly looked at advertisements on Seek, TradeMe and in newspapers, and eventually found work through people she had worked for last summer.

"You have to know the right people," she said. "You just have to exhaust all the options and talk to people constantly. So much of it is through word of mouth."

Jervis said there were 3234 vacancies listed with Student Job Search in Canterbury, and 1797 of those had been filled, with 884 still waiting for responses from employers. It was hard to say how many registered users of Student Job Search found employment because not all were actively searching for jobs.

The Ministry of Social Development said 19,245 students at the end of last month were receiving an unemployment benefit because they were experiencing financial difficulties. More than 45,000 students finished their studies between October and November last year, and they all qualify for the benefit.

Between November 2010 and February 2011, $43.5 million was paid in unemployment benefits for students.

Jervis said there were many hospitality and retail jobs on Student Job Search's website.

"But we are trying to get the message out there that students offer businesses so much more," he said.

"For example, anything to do with technology is bread and butter to students as a general population.

"A lot of businesses are wanting to get involved in the whole social media hype. Students are well placed to help them out."

Student Job Search was receiving more than 2000 calls daily, 15 per cent more than at the same time last year, he said.

Canterbury's student job market was buoyant, Jervis said.

"On one day this year we had more jobs listed in Christchurch than in Auckland. It shows you how busy Christchurch is," he said.

- © Fairfax NZ News