Fears more students will drop out as jobs dry up

Published on Wednesday 22 April 2009 09:46

HARD-UP students struggling to find a part-time job because of the recession will be forced to drop out of university if the Scottish Government does not step in with extra funding, it was claimed today.

The careers service at Edinburgh University has reported a 20 per cent reduction in the number of jobs being advertised through them for students trying to fund their way through their studies, despite working "increasingly hard" to find vacancies.

Its student leader, Adam Ramsay, says the current financial climate has meant this is "the first time in a generation" that people have struggled to get part-time work and warned it will inevitably force some – particularly people from poorer backgrounds – out of university.

Mr Ramsay, president of the Edinburgh University Students' Association, said: "The last few weeks have seen students come into our Advice Place because they can't find part time work.

"This is the first time we have seen this problem for a generation. Our higher education system is built around the assumption that students from poorer backgrounds will get a part-time job.

"Now this job market has dried up, and we expect to see students dropping out of university."

Mr Ramsay is calling for the Scottish Government to intervene and guarantee a minimum income for students of 7000 per year to ensure poorer students are not being forced to drop out of university, or prevented from going in the first place.

He said: "A short-term recession cannot be allowed to mean a whole generation of poorer students drop out of education. The Government must increase the level of student support to at least 7,000 a year as soon as possible."

The extent of the financial struggle faced by students can be seen in the sharp increase in people applying to their universities for hardship grants.

Nationally, around 16 million was distributed by the Scottish Government in university hardship funds for 2008/09, which is an eight per cent increase on 2007/08. Edinburgh universities have seen as much as a 50 per cent increase in students asking for financial help.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "We have recognised that the student support system was inadequately funded by previous administrations and that is why we have provided 38m to introduce grants and are currently consulting on a wide range of proposals.

"We have also substantially increased the funding available for higher education discretionary funds from 14.04 million to 16.1m this year."

60 applications .. two interviews

AFTER a year of job searching, Matt Norris is still on the hunt for part-time work to help him fund his university days.

Despite having sent in around 60 applications and CVs to companies, the 19-year-old has received only two interviews.

The second-year psychology student at Edinburgh University is mainly looking for part-time retail jobs.

Mr Norris, who lives in the city centre, is just about surviving thanks to his student loans, bursaries and his overdraft, but is worried about the long-term impact of this.

He said: "After you take away what you spend on accommodation, you're not left with much.

"I have been trying to get a job since last May and have only had two interviews.

"I'm applying for a residential English language camp in the summer but I would prefer to have a steady part-time job."

He added: "I have also come to the realisation that there's little to no chance of getting a job in psychology when I finish."