Students seek perfect match

Dundee College has launched a service that uses dating agency technology to help students find jobs.

The on-campus Job Service for Students will use a database to match eligible students with suitable local vacancies.

The venture is a collaboration between the college and Tayside Employment Services, the local job centres.

Dundee believes it is breaking new ground with the one-year secondment of Gail Finlayson from Employment Services as student employment officer.

Nicol Stephen, Scotland's deputy minister for enterprise and lifelong learning, who launched the service, said: "This will help Dundee College graduates secure jobs quicker and help the city's booming high-tech companies and service sector to quickly close any skills gaps they may have."

Job Service will place all students inquiring after vacancies on a database, highlighting their skills, qualifications and job interests.

A similar database of employer vacancies will also be set up to help match the students.

About 1,200 students, of a target audience of 3,750, are expected to use the service annually, leading, it is hoped, to 375 taking up full and part-time work.

Ms Finlayson said Tayside Employment Service sent her vacancies daily, and some employers were already contacting her directly.

"It is not just a case of finding a part-time job for a full-time student.

"There are also those students who are nearing the end of their courses where some intensive job matching is needed," she explained.

Ms Finlayson added: "My goal is to help all students, whether they are full time, part time, Training for Work or New Deal students, to find employment."

Mr Stephen said the college was also furthering the Scottish Executive's widening access agenda by putting database information on its website, making information available to its outreach centres.

The pilot scheme, with Ms Finlayson's secondment being underwritten by Tayside Employment Services, will, initially run for a year.

Extending the Job Service scheme will depend on support from the European Social Fund and on how many students take part.