Scheme benefits students

Press, 17 January 1979, Page 6

Scheme benefits students

The student community service programme was a big success as a community service, said the new president of the University of Canterbury Students’ Association (Mr T. Stuart), yesterday.

The programme, which runs over the summer break, allowed many small nonprofit making community organisations to employ students on important community projects for which money would not normally be available, said Mr Stuart. At the same time it created jobs for students so that they could put back into the community their knowledge and skills, he said. Mr Stuart was commenting on a statement last week by the acting president of the New Zealand University Students' Association (Mr G. Liddell). Mr Liddell predicted serious long-term results of the increased numbers of tertiary students unemployed or on special work under the student community service programme. Mr Liddell said 781 students in Christchurch were employed on student community service. Christchurch! had 164 unemployed students'

at December 15, 1978, said Mr Stuart.

“At present, tertiary student unemployment in Christchurch is next to nothing,” Mr Stuart said.

This was thanks .to the student community service programme as every student, who had registered with the Department of Labour under the programme had obtained a job. Mr Stuart said he could not agree with Mr Liddell that the number of students on the programme in New Zealand showed the inability of the private sector to absorb students over the summer break.

“Rather, these figures show the ability of the Government to show awareness for student employment needs, and the ability to recognise the needs of small community groups and organisations,” said Mr Stuart. Mr Liddell had said that if high student unemployment continued, it would mean some students might be unable to return to their studies.

The Labour Department figures showed that at December 15 there were 3310 students in New Zealand placed under the community service programme, and 1362

unemployed. This represented 13.4 per cent of the fulltime university and technical institute students, which was “disturbingly high,” Mr Liddell said. Auckland and Christchurch! had the highest rates of student unemployment, Mr Liddell said. The situation was more serious in Auckland

I than in Christchurch because ■ there were fewer students I there with student commun- > ity service programme jobs and more unemployed. The Labour Department’s i latest .statistics on the num- • ber of unemployed students - and those on the community i 5 service programme will be] i released later this week. ■