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Location Wellington, New Zealand | ||
Student Job Search (SJS) is a not-for-profit incorporated society, owned by 21 Student Associations from New Zealand’s leading Universities and Polytechnics. It is funded by the New Zealand government, whilst operating independently, with the mission of helping tertiary students in New Zealand find employment.
Contents
Overview
Student Job Search is a free service that matches intending, current and or graduate tertiary students looking for work with employers who need casual, temporary or permanent staff.
The organisation is unique to New Zealand and represents the country’s largest pool of emerging talent. Student Job Search’s core capability is matching employers with students who have the right skills and experience. In recent years, SJS has filled on average over 25,000 jobs with students. In 2013 students collectively earned over $70 million through jobs with SJS. SJS lists a wide variety of jobs suitable for students from both private household and business employers. Jobs can range in nature from low skilled manual labour to highly skilled technical type roles.
Student Job Search provides employers two levels of screening, including automated system screening followed by a telephone interview determining a candidate’s suitability based on criteria established by the employer. This process then enables SJS to provide, a shortlist of suitable candidates for the employer to consider. The organisation’s marketing phrases include ‘Get jobs that pay now and later' and ‘nothing beats experience’.
Purpose
Set-up to help tertiary students find employment, and now funded by the government for that purpose (see below); Student Job Search registers students and employers to make it easier for students to find, and for employers to fill jobs that would suit tertiary students.
Service for students
All current, intending and recently graduated tertiary students from a registered and approved tertiary education provider can register. Students find a job/jobs they are interested in on the website and complete an online application form and are then interviewed by phone by Student Job Search to ensure they meet the employer’s criteria. Once screened and approved, student profiles are updated. In some cases students then get in contact directly with the employer and in others the application is forwarded straight to the employer by Student Job Search and the employer with get in touch with them.
Service for employers
Employers can list jobs themselves online or they can contact SJS and list the job over the phone (0800 757 562). They can either allow successfully screened students to contact them or contact their preferred candidates themselves. Employers can also decide whether to shortlist and/or offer a student the job themselves. The service is also free for employers to list jobs.
Governance
Student Job Search is governed by a National Council made up of elected current presidents of member student associations, and several appointed independents.
Student Job Search members
Click to see a list of student organisations that are members of Student Job Search Incorporated Society:
Funding
The Ministry of Social Development (MSD) provides over 90% of the funding Student Job Search receives to deliver their services to support students in securing the employment they need to fund their studies and improve their post graduate employment prospects. Funding from other sources also comes from Student Job Search Members (see list above).
History
From 1977 to 1982 the Department of Labour ran the Student Community Service Programme to help university, polytechnic and college of education students to find work during the summer vacation period.
In 1982 Student Job Search was established as a service to help tertiary students find casual work to help alleviate student poverty. Originally the service was campus-based and the individual university student unions established management committees to run the service.
In 1986 all Student Job Search operations were co-ordinated by the newly established Student Job Search Aotearoa Incorporated and funded to a large degree by an annual grant from the government. By 1997 there were eight main regional offices and another 15 additional offices during the busy summer period.
A restructure took place in 2004 and the six regional incorporated societies were dissolved, transferring all assets, liabilities and employees to Student Job Search Aotearoa Incorporated. A general manager was appointed to manage all operations and staff and the national office was located in Dunedin.
By 2010-11 Student Job Search’s national office had re-located to Wellington and established a centralised call centre in the same office. In September 2012 all seven regional offices were closed as students were applying for jobs online.