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Part-time work can harm students' futures

Students who work to help pay their way through university are missing out on extra curricular activities that might tempt future employers, it was claimed this week. The University and College Union, which represents university lecturers, says working long hours makes them too tired to participate in college life. This could impact on their CV when they face the job market, say lecturers.

Estimates say that half of all students who on full-time degrees work to help pay their way, working on average 14 hours a week. Potentially, students who work the longest hours may be too tired to get the most from their lectures, but they could also be too busy to get involved in the student paper or join clubs and societies that could help their CV stand out.

Sally Hunt, from the University and College Union, said: “A student who’s had simply to work to live will not necessarily have had the choices to build their career and it means they’re at a detriment immediately they go into the job market. “Employers have to look for the relevant experience.”

Ama Uzowuru, vice president of the National Union of Students, said: “They leave university and they haven’t worked on the student newspaper and they haven’t done those activities at university that they could do.”

The government rejects the charge that students are forced to make a choice between financing their university degree and getting a good CV. Education Minister Bill Rammell says the government has put a new package of financial support in place for students starting university this autumn, which should mean students do not have to work more than they want to.Â

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .