Drop in jobs vexes OUSA

A drop in the amount of summer work gained by Dunedin tertiary students reflects tough times, but the situation has been worsened by increased competition from postgraduate students after funding cuts, student leaders say.

Otago University Students' Association president Francisco Hernandez said recent student job enrolments, seeking part-time work during study, were up 24%, to 724, on the comparable period early last year.

But the number of students recently placed in work, through Student Job Search, had dropped 15% from the corresponding period last year.

And the overall number of ''weeks worked'' had also fallen 4% - from 3609 to 3449 - during the past few months, compared with the previous equivalent period.

''With figures getting lower during January and February, we are concerned at the lack of available jobs to supplement the already limited incomes available to students.''

Reduced job placements partly reflected tougher economic times, but he was also worried many postgraduate students, previously supported by student allowances, were having to seek part-time work during term-time.

This followed a Government move, which took effect on January 1 this year, to end student allowances for postgraduate students.

''More students are needing extra work after postgraduate student allowance cuts,'' he said.

Problems faced by postgraduate students and other work-related student woes should be ''definitely an area of concern for everyone in Dunedin'', he said.

Given the economic importance to Dunedin of the city's tertiary education industry, city residents should be concerned if students were discouraged from continuing their studies, if part-time work became too hard to find.

The association still hoped the Government would consider providing ''grandparenting'' transitional support for postgraduates who had begun their studies before allowance cuts were made.

Otago students who had found work through the job search organisation were earning an average of 11% more than in the previous year, but that was the only positive news.

More students needed to find work to continue their studies and ''our greatest fear is that even with a free job service there won't be the jobs there for them.''