New Zealand Intensifies Attempts to Hire Newly Graduated Students for Full-Time Positions

Student Job Search (SJS) is intensifying its efforts to get university graduates hired into full-time positions, as recruitment agencies have not offered many opportunities to the latter in the past.

The organization previously has helped students find part-time work or odd jobs while studying and occasional full-time positions. According to the government-funded organization, the pandemic has increased students’ interest in permanent employment, Erudera.com reports.

As a result, SJS has founded a team to collaborate with businesses to find long-term positions for students and recruit them for job interviews.

The chief executive of SJS, Suzanne Boyd, said that the move was established in a bid to improve the graduates’ position in the work market after recruiting agencies lacked the initiative to work with students in the past.

“Recruiters, because it is fee based, don’t want to spend the time … helping graduates articulate their skills, talk about what they have done in the past as evidence, and turn up to an interview in a way that is really appealing to a potential employer,” Boyd said.

Boyd also noted that SJS has attempted to lower the risk of hiring graduates who did not have a job history for businesses. This method has worked with numerous students over the years, and SJS claims they could advocate on their behalf.

According to Boyd, SJS has shared about 200 full-time jobs on its website, many of them in the technology, media, and architecture sectors during the recent weeks.

“We’re calling on all graduates across New Zealand to put their hands up and make the most of these opportunities,” Boyd asserted.

Previously, New Zealand universities producing graduates, be it domestic or international, have reported significant amounts of redundancies due to the closure of the borders to preserve the COVID-19 further transmission.

The Auckland University has reported a $44 million loss in redundancies and a reduction in international student fees. In contrast, Auckland, Canterbury, Auckland University of Technology (AUT) received more revenue from domestic students’ enrollment in 2020.

However, three New Zealand universities – Canterbury, Victoria, and Otago have reported that 1,000 students more will enroll at the beginning of the academic year. The Victoria University claimed there had been a nine percent increase in domestic students’ enrolment, whereas the University of Canterbury reported a total of 13 percent rise of the same. Lastly, the University of Otago presented an increase of 5.4 percent or 952 full-time enrolments.