Four year high in student earnings

The latest figures from Student Job Search show that students in the Otago area had their biggest earning month in four years earning $2.16m.

"We're really happy with the SJS service, it's giving more students the chance to support themselves during their studies and bolster their CV" said Francisco Hernandez, OUSA Welfare Officer.

However, it's not a rosy outlook for all Otago students – despite the growth in earnings, almost one thousand more students (4,307 in total) were looking for work compared to 2011 and the OUSA Student Support Food Bank is giving out more food parcels than expected leading up to the end of the academic year.

"What's concerning is the spike in food bank use, these are small parcels containing just the basics. Their use reflects too many students staggering to the study finishline in 2012 rather than finishing in good condition.” Said Mr. Hernandez, “Couple that with the job seeking numbers and the response to changes to Post Graduate Allowances, we’re just a little bit concerned that food packs may be a lead indicator for students dropping out of study."

The number of students seeking OUSA Food Bank parcels has increased by 20% when compared with the total food parcels given out over the entire year for 2011.

"The growth in student earnings is great. But there are some students who are doing it really tough and need help, a situation which is only going to get worse once the Post Graduate allowance changes come into full effect next year." said Mr. Hernandez.

"We think in lieu of retaining the cuts in Post Graduate Allowances the government should have another look at allowing Post Graduates to transfer those costs to a loan rather than go without, particularly for student parents.” Said Mr. Hernandez, “The government stated that was the principle it was working to. Unfortunately the details just don’t work out like that.”

The Student Job Search service is free for students as well as businesses and individuals looking to search for or list work. More information can be found online at www.sjs.co.nz

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