Job shortage sees 7,000 students settle for work scheme

MORE than 7,000 students have applied for a summer employment scheme because of the shortage of jobs in mainstream employment due to the economic slowdown.

Under the Student Jobs Summer Scheme, students are paid just 3.85 an hour.

The wage level is way below the national minimum pay rate of 5.97 and has been criticised by the Union of Students in Ireland.

However, the payments up to a maximum of 770 are not subject to tax or PRSI, and students are not restricted from doing other work.

A Department of Social and Family Affairs spokesperson said it is aware that questions have been asked about the payment rates compared to the minimum wage.

“We have received legal advice and we are examining that at the moment, but a decision will be made in the very near future,” she said.

The scheme involves up to 200 hours of work over at least six weeks and students are most often placed with community, voluntary, sporting or education bodies.

From a peak of 15,000 students participating between 1995 and 1997, only 5,888 took part in 2000 and 4,965 worked under the scheme last summer.

The amount of work on offer has fallen this summer, with 2,912 sponsors offering 14,244 jobs, almost 1,000 fewer than last year.

The slowdown in the jobs market is also clear from the statistics of the country’s online recruitment services, with RecruitIreland.com showing a large increase in job seekers using its website. “We had 153 new users yesterday, compared to just 90 on the same date last year, and we often have up to 200 new people some days,” said managing director, Tom Crosbie.

“There are more people checking for new jobs now, but it’s very much gone from being a candidate’s market to an employer’s market. A year ago, companies couldn’t get people and they were struggling to hang onto them, now it’s the other way around,” he said.

The latest figures for Irishjobs.ie show the level of use has trebled in just 18 months.