A proposal has been issued to Student Job Search offices nationwide indicating that regional offices will be shut down in September, with a centralised call centre to be established in Wellington.
As a result Otago would be left without any representation on campus, with the one staff member allocated for the whole of the South Island to be based in Christchurch.
Student Job Search staff were informed of the “Proposal For Change” on Friday July 8, with OUSA and other students associations advised the following Monday. OUSA gives $22,500 to SJS annually.
The proposal, which has come from the senior leadership team of SJS, would see a move to a new system whereby students would apply online for jobs in a manner similar to TradeMe Jobs, or Seek.co.nz. Every regional office in the country would be closed, leaving no representation in Otago. It is unclear what would happen to the current SJS premises.
A two-week consultation process is being undertaken in order to engage with staff and others potentially affected.
Regional Service Delivery Leader Suzanne Te Au described the changes in the proposal as “absolutely unbelievable”, and a “travesty” for Otago students and employers alike. While SJS staff have been told that nothing is definite yet, in reality Te Au says that it has already been decided, leaving her with “major concern for students in Otago.”
“SJS Dunedin’s great presence on campus is part of the reason why our office has the biggest number of walk-in students applying for jobs, which is all going to be thrown away. More Otago students are placed in jobs than anywhere else in the country. ”
Out of the 26,000 annual SJS job placements nation wide, around 5,700 are Otago University and Polytech students, making up over 21% of New Zealand’s student job market. Te Au is predicting that the proposal and its implications will mean a “loss of support from both employers and students.”
The relocation of all services to a single call centre based in Wellington has been described by Te Au as “the heart and soul of SJS being usurped”, and represents a radical departure from the traditional SGS model.
“SJS was set up by students for students, it doesn’t cost anything [for students] and is a very valuable service. I don’t see how this can be good for Otago.”
SJS staff are all on fixed term contracts which end on September 30 this year, which is when Te Au understands that the regional offices will be forced to close.
With regards to the proposed shutdown, OUSA President Logan Edgar told Critic that he thought that “it is exciting, big things are happening there. Lots of stuff is done online these days, what’s planned to go in there will be more valuable to students than SJS.”
There goes the neighbourhood
