New Joint University Employment Agency to Help Students Gain Skills and Aid Local Community

Published by University of Leicester Press Office for University of Leicester in Education and also in Communities

The University of Leicester and De Montfort University (DMU) are collaborating to help their students find part-time work during their degrees.

The new Unitemps employment agency will allow students to gain valuable employment experience whilst also providing local companies with a large database of potential workers for specific projects.

Temporary work will range from assignments lasting from as little as one hour to as much as one year.

Potential employers will be able to advertise all their available roles and with the combined numbers of students from both universities they will have a greater chance of securing suitable help fast.

All temporary employment opportunities within the two universities will also be handled by the Unitemps agency. The agency will be able to organise shortlists of candidates and arrange for interviews according to the employers’ wishes.

For students, this chance to boost their employability by gaining valuable experience could be vital for securing employment after they graduate.

International students can get a taste of working life in the UK, whilst home students can utilise their transferrable skills they have gained through their degree course.

The competitive nature of the applications offered will help to maximise the chances of candidates who pass the agency's recruitment process of finding suitable work for their skills as well as providing employers with the best person for the job.

The Unitemps agency is part of the UK-wide University Careers Service, which will help protect employers from the risk of being provided with unreliable candidates.

De Montfort University’s Unitemps agency branch will be officially launched on Thursday October 18, and the University of Leicester’s branch will be officially opened in early November. A Unitemps staff member will be onsite at each university every day to answer queries via telephone or email.

Lucy Madahar, Head of Careers and Employability at DMU, said: “Unitemps is a win-win for everyone. For our students it provides access to a great range of part-time work opportunities both at DMU and in the wider community; opportunities which will enhance their job prospects and ensure they leave university not only with a degree, but also with valuable skills and experience that employers want.

“For DMU’s various faculties and departments, it provides an efficient and effective way to address temporary staffing issues at a pace and price which meets the business needs of the university.”

Bob Athwal, Director of the University of Leicester Careers Service, said: "It will give students the opportunity to have part-time university and external work that will help to develop their essential skills. It will add to their value in the world of work. It will help build essential experience.

"The collaboration of the University of Leicester and De Montfort University will be beneficial because with the two universities working together, there will be a greater coverage for the whole of Leicestershire.

"It will provide a great opportunity to give students the experience they need to help them gain a graduate job."

The initiative has been successful in other universities. It is hoped that within the next 12 months there will be 12 Unitemps offices across the country, allowing the agency to provide temporary workers for national organisations.

De Montfort University’s branch will be based within the Student Gateway in Gateway House, and the University of Leicester’s branch will be located in the Percy Gee Students’ Union building.

Any profits made will be invested in developing student employability and campus facilities.