– I have heard of people who have lost both summer jobs and permanent jobs this year. That’s what Emma Stanger (24) says. She is studying engineering and ICT in her fourth year at NTNU in Trondheim. She has seen good friends get fired from the jobs they signed up for during their studies before they’ve even started. – They lose their jobs because the companies do not have the financial capacity. Then you suddenly have to start searching again because you lost what you really had. Missing out on salary increases and overtime A survey carried out by the Technical and Natural Sciences Association (Tekna) shows that technology students are highly sought after by employers. So much so that a full 77 per cent got a job last year while they were still studying. – What we see is that the companies are looking to sign contracts early. It doesn’t just have to be positive for our members, says Elisabet Haugsbø. She is Tekna president and is skeptical of employers entering into contracts with students as much as one or two years before the end of their studies. Tekna president Elisabet Haugsbø offers advice to students who are going out into working life. Photo: Tekna Now she wants to make the promising young people aware that things can happen during the year which means that the signed contract is not as lucrative as it seemed a year ago. – Should you have a review of your salary before you start the job, or will you receive a salary that means that you will initially be left behind a year later? Starting at a lower salary can stick with you for a long time in working life, warns Haugsbø. And although it is great to get a contract early, Haugsbø points out that there may be clauses in the contract that you may not think about. One of these is a particularly independent position. – We see that there are some who try to give it to students to avoid paying overtime, which can often be quite a considerable additional cost for the company. She also believes that if a better offer comes before commencement, the student should consider it. – It’s not like you’re married to an employer if you get a better offer that you’d rather take. The student board at Tekna. From left Helene Wingård Skøien, Emma Stanger, Jonas Risanger Rød, Ilias Tche, Elias Draugedalen, Rikke Berg Torgersen, Eirik-Mathias Bjørnø Rummelhoff and Christoffer Røneid. Photo: Celina Therese Ekholt / news Losing out on early processes – The application process for summer jobs starts very, very early, right after the summer is over, says Emma Stanger. She points out that this is unfortunate because the students at this point do not know what they should expect in salary for the coming year. – So the fact that you push the application processes so early means that you might miss out on a few kroner an hour, she continues. Elias Draugedalen experiences the same. He is studying computer science in his first year at the University of Bergen. Both students already have a lot of contact with the companies. Photo: Celina Therese Ekholt / news He describes the line he follows as a hot potato on the job market. But he believes that it quickly happens that, as a young and inexperienced person, you conform to the employer’s wishes. – There are very few of us students who have seen such “adult contracts”, says Draugedalen. He reminds his fellow students that the contract should contain a clause if you participate in the general wage increase in society. Otherwise, he is positive about signing a contract before the end of his studies: – If you find something that you think looks like a fun job, you should go for it, as long as you get the safety clauses in.
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These students are flooded with job offers. Now the trade union warns – news Norway – Overview of news from various parts of the country
