UHI Inverness hosts part-time jobs fair to connect students and public with employers
Local employers with vacancies will attend the UHI Inverness Part-Time Jobs Fair next week to connect with students and members of the public seeking work that fits around their studies and busy lifestyles.
The fair in the campus atrium on Wednesday, 1 November from 10am to 2pm will allow students and visitors to explore part-time job openings, course information and potential career pathways. The event is being organised by the Student Support Team at UHI Inverness to match people who are looking to earn extra money in their free time with employers recruiting staff at a busy time of year.
Laurie Symon, a Personal Development Advisor who works in the Student Support Team, said: “We hope that this event will be of real benefit to our students and the local community. By highlighting the opportunities for part-time work available, we want to empower our students to support themselves during the current cost-of-living crisis while allowing local businesses the chance to recruit at this busy time of year. This event is open to everyone, and we hope it will encourage people to visit our campus and find out about how they can not only find work, but also increase their employability skills through full or part-time study at UHI Inverness.”
Working part time while studying has many advantages. It allows students to earn extra money, gain transferable and interpersonal skills, learn to manage their time and money and grow in confidence. Career advice and job recruitment to aid student professional development is an important element of the service the UHI Inverness Student Support Team offers students. One of the students who benefitted from this service is recent BA (Hons) Business and Management graduate Lauren Geddes from Inverness who spotted an advert for a summer job posted by the team on the UHI Inverness student information portal MyDay.
Lauren said: “The summer job opportunity notification came up on my phone, and after discovering the job was perfectly aligned with my studies and interests, I emailed the Impact Hub straight away. They were really keen to hire someone from UHI Inverness, so this definitely gave me an advantage. “I was successful with my interview, and I started the temporary post only one week after completing my coursework. I was using my course knowledge instantly and it wasn’t long before I was learning extremely valuable skills in marketing, finance, and business advice. Two months later, they offered me a year-long contract which I was so excited and grateful for and today I am still learning so much about business and the social enterprise sector. "I am so grateful I spotted the job advert that day as I have no idea where I’d be right now if not, and being a UHI Inverness student has given me a great advantage as I find businesses are always keen to help their local university students.”
The employers signed up to attend the networking opportunity represent the care, hospitality and retail sectors. They will be able to answer questions about working with them, talk about the roles available and the application process.