Universities address worker shortage

Universities address worker shortage

New Zealand universities have taken a step towards addressing the nation's employee shortage with a targeted online search for workers.

A new website NZUniCareerHub - www.nzunicareerhub.ac.nz - accelerates the hunt for employees by giving employers access to more than 200,000 nationwide job-seeking students and graduates.

Universities today are strongly focussed on helping students find employment, says NZUniCareerHub spokesperson David Trought, and the new web portal tackles New Zealand's greatest employment challenge in decades.

"There's growing concern that employers simply cannot find qualified employees to fill their many and varied roles. This site goes some way towards correcting this national dilemma and perhaps too easing the much-publicised Kiwi "brain drain" that goes along with it."

CareerHub enables almost all of New Zealand's university students to get themselves under the nose of potential employers, says Mr. Trought.

"Employers will go to the site because they know they'll get a broad selection of New Zealand's best students. It's win-win-win."

CareerHub is the creation of the University Careers Advisers of New Zealand (UCANZ) and includes seven of the country's eight universities.

Career advisers from the universities of Auckland, AUT, Canterbury, Lincoln, Massey, Otago and Victoria have collaborated to link the universities and students to Kiwi organisations.

By completing a simple online template, employers can advertise graduate vacancies, internships, holiday work, research projects and contract positions to a nationwide pool of university students.

AUT University has a history of gearing its students towards employment, says AUT Career Centre manager, Nancy Dunlop

"The new web network creates even greater possibilities and makes the search more efficient and personal," she says. "Employers can find workers from their desk and students can search for work at home."

Ms Dunlop says the CareerHub site customises the job seeking experience for students.

"It's fast, fun and loaded with information," she says. "CareerHub enhances our students' ability to market themselves successfully by giving them access to tools such as job search advice, self-assessment, career fairs and graduate recruitment programmes."

New Zealand university career services involved in the CareerHub already provide a range of career development and employment assistance from career counselling, workshops, mock interviews to internship and graduate vacancies, and employer presentations.

For more information, please go to www.nzunicareerhub.ac.nz or email info[at]nzunicareerhub.ac.nz

ENDS

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