Employers sign up for Aston job exchange

Aston University's Students Guild has set up a Job Shop to help students find term-time work. University policy stipulates that students should not work more than 15 hours a week, but the student Job Shop is now a popular point of call for students and employers willing to operate within this rule.

Students who register stipulate the kind of work they would like and are sent an email when suitable work comes in. Katie Lomas, the student's union vice-president for welfare who manages the Job Shop, expects the service to grow as employers come to regard students as an all-year-round, rich source of casual employment.

Many Aston students find work in telemarketing, which develops communication and team-working abilities. Other vacancies coming into the Job Shop are more suited to students doing particular degrees. For example,a local engineering firm requested a student with engineering skills to help out, while a number of firms have asked for language students to work with them as translators at the nearby National Exhibition Centre. Some of the work on the other hand, is more unusual. "Not so long ago,'' says Katie Lomas, "the NEC wanted students who could rollerblade."