There would be no
Student Job Search office in Dunedin from the end of
September under a proposal put out for consultation this
month.
If the plan goes ahead, all six regional offices will close
and students will apply for jobs online. There will also be a
call centre in Wellington.
SJS Otago-Southland regional service delivery leader Suzanne
Te Au said that, under the proposal, sales positions would be
established next April in Canterbury, Wellington and
Auckland.
Staff had been given two weeks to respond to the proposal by
this Friday. A final decision was expected by August 1.
Ms Te Au, who has been in the job for four years, said she
was the only permanent employee in the Dunedin office. Four
other staff were on fixed-term contracts which expired at the
end of September.
While she would make a submission, she did not believe
anything she said was going to make a difference.
About 21% of 26,000 placements made under the existing system
nationally involved Otago and Southland students.
"We have a very good sign-up rate at Student Job Search.
Personally, I think that has a lot to do with our presence
and where we are located."
She questioned what impact not having SJS staff on campus
would have on awareness of the service, both for students and
employers.
However, SJS management believed students did not want to
engage face-to-face and would prefer to use an online system,
she said.
SJS national office did not respond to a request for
information yesterday.
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