Employment centre for work crisis

Press, 22 October 1981, Page 6

Employment centre for work crisis

A student employment centre will open at the Unversity of Canterbury on October 28 to assist with an expected holiday employment crisis.

At least 1000. students would have to go on to the emergency unemployment benefit, said the president of the Students’ Association, Ms Katrina Amos, yesterday. Social Welfare Department officers would be at the employment centre to process applications for the benefit, she said. ■ The centre will also be staffed by Labour Department officers who will enrol students for the Student Community ’ Assistance Programme, which will start on November 30.

Students employed by the association will also be present and will make available any jobs in the private sector.

Ms Amos said there had been fewer inquiries from private sector employers seeking student holiday ■labour this year.

“There has not been the flood there has been in previous years,” she said. Most students would have to rely on the S.C.A.P. scheme for employment.

. “We expect more than 2000 students to enrol for the scheme this year,” Ms Amos said.

By the end of last week, about 50 organisations had applied to the Labour Department seeking to employ students under the scheme. This was on a par with last year.

More than 1000 students would have to go on the emergency unemployment benefit for the four or five weeks between the time their examinations finished and the S.C.A.P. scheme started.