STA, 21 May 2022 - A survey by a student employment agency has found that the student work market has changed significantly in recent years for many reasons, and almost half of students would now like to perform hybrid work. Most of them expect a monthly wage of up to EUR 1,000 in their first job.
The survey carried out among 1,012 young people this month was presented by Vesna Miloševič Zupančič of e-Študentski Servis at a recent event in Ljubljana on shortened working time.
It showed that 43% of the respondents would like to perform hybrid work (remote work, work at the employer's seat and field work), 29% said they would work only at the employer's seat, 23% would work only remotely and 4% only do field work.
Around 40% of the respondents said it would be difficult for them to afford studying without student work, 21% said this was partly true and 38% said that this was not the case.
When it comes to the monthly net wage for the first employment, most of the respondents (41%) said up to EUR 1,000, 38% said up to EUR 1,500, 12% up to EUR 757.56 (minimum wage), 6% up to EUR 2,000, and 3% more than EUR 2,000.
Almost half of the students want a standard work schedule of five days a week and eight hours a day, and 27% would like to work part-time (various combinations, including a four-day working week).
Some 6% would like to perform project work (for example, more than eight hours a day, then several months off), and 14% do not think about this yet. It is notable that as many as 59% still want employment on a regular basis.
Miloševič Zupančič rejected the notion that young people do not want to work, noting that two-thirds of young people in Slovenia perform student work for an average of nine hours a week, earning EUR 200 euros a month on average.
She said that young jobseekers had changed greatly in recent years, that young people knew their labour rights and knew how to stand up for themselves, while the reputation of the employer was also important to them.
Young people are becoming increasingly interested in professional work and work related to their education, they look for work that brings important competences, lead to regular employment, and is important for their career development, she added.
They are generally digitally literate and prefer to communicate digitally, they adapt quickly to changes in the labour market, speak multiple languages, and pick jobs more strategically.
On the other hand, they are not always responsive, they spend a lot of time on their phones, they sometimes fail to show up to work, they give up quickly and are used to being serviced and entertained, Milošević Zupančič said.
The student work market has also changed. Demand is high while the number of eligible students has dropped by a third compared to ten years ago - due to demographics, legislative restrictions and students focusing on their studies.
In addition, student work has been significantly more expensive since 2015, with the minimum hourly rate set at EUR 5.21 net, and with EUR 100 in net earning for a student costing the employer EUR 167.06 due to various contributions.
