Laura Price
BBC News, Jersey
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Students can struggle to find seasonal work
A Jersey student studying in the UK has told how she has applied for about 50 summer jobs on the island to help fund her university studies.
Georgie Smith, who is studying chemistry at Cardiff University, said it was “disheartening” to “receive absolutely nothing back” from the majority of her applications over the past two months.
“It’s gotten to the point where I’d sort of prefer if people would almost respond with rejections,” she told BBC Radio Jersey.
Data from the UK hospitality sector found those looking for work often found businesses could not afford to take on the extra staff.
Ms Smith said she had sent off multiple tailored job applications, detailing relevant experience, and had been following up her applications “but then no one is answering which is getting a bit frustrating at this point”.
“To put in that effort and get no response, it’s all a bit disheartening,” she added.
Ms Smith said she has now managed to secure an interview, “so hopefully that goes well”.
“It is important to keep applying even if you’re not getting much back, and to keep going because eventually you will get to a point where you’ll find something,” she added.
Jules Barons said the cost of employing students for seasonal work was “a barrier” for some businesses on the island
Ms Smith said she had been working part-time since she was 15 and “it’s been a great way for me to build up my budget because now I’m going back to uni for my second year”.
She said she would now need to look for part-time weekend work while studying at university “because summer was my point to be able to get some cash while I was over back at Jersey”.
Ms Smith said she knew several fellow students from Jersey who had approached various places to be told: “We’re not looking for seasonal work, we’re only looking for people who are going to be on island or here full time.
“They’re not looking for many people now for the summer.”
‘Too expensive to employ’
Data from the UK hospitality sector also found there were 25% fewer students available to employ over the summer.
Jules Barons, owner of The Lookout cafe and restaurant in St Helier, said they normally had “lots of applications” from students looking for seasonal work but “we haven’t had as many this year”.
She said she employed “a lot of fantastic young students” who were “a key part of my employment strategy”.
Ms Barons said a mistake made by some students was sending a brief email enquiring if there were any jobs available.
“I like people who make an effort – come in and see us or do a CV or tell us something about themselves,” she added.
She said their student employees were paid minimum wage rising to £26 per hour on bank holidays, which “is a real challenge for a lot of hospitality businesses… so that’s why you will go to some places in Jersey and they are closed on bank holidays because… it’s just too expensive to employ them”.
Hannah Samson from Skills Jersey said they offered a range of support and practical advice for jobseekers including students, including one-to-one bookable appointments.
She said they encouraged students to secure work placements at the age of 14 or 15, with 250 students securing placements in the 2023-24 academic year in either the hospitality or retail industry.
This equated to around 26% of that cohort and could then lead to securing seasonal work, Ms Samson added.