By Craig Smith, Kirkcaldy
STUDENTS in Fife
have expressed their fears about what the future holds as the region's jobless total hit its highest level in more than
a decade.
The Courier revealed yesterday how the number of Fifers claiming Jobseekers' Allowance
(JSA) rose to 10,776 last month, the fourth successive monthly increase despite signs of an economic recovery.
Further
research shows that the statistic hasn't been as high since July 1999, when 10,906 were claiming unemployment benefits,
while the number of job vacancies stood at 669 last month, meaning there were at least 16 claimants per unfilled post in January
alone.
It all paints a bleak picture for school, college and university leavers hoping to gain employment
as soon as possible, with the latter two groups in particular often also having huge student debts hanging over their heads.
The
Courier spoke to a cross-section of students at Adam Smith College yesterday and, while there are understandable concerns
about what could happen, there is still a great deal of optimism as well.
Student officer Kenny Wright (31),
from Kirkcaldy, said he had been studying computer aided design (CAD) but changed direction towards electrical engineering
due to the lack of jobs out there.
"Out of my class of 19 last year, there's only two people
got a job in CAD and most of the class have come back to study again this year," he explained.
"I changed direction
as my dad is in engineering and I'm hoping he might be able to help me get a job, but it is really tough out there.
"A lot of students don't know what to do and I've already applied for a college
course next year just in case with the amount of students coming here.
"I've been in touch with
agencies since June in the oil and gas industries and they are still advising that there are no design engineering jobs going
and if there are, they are looking for experience.
"I think a lot of students are progressing in the field they've
chosen but it all really depends what industry you are in.
"The construction and engineering industries
seem to be in a downward spiral but the service industries are all coming back."
The current jobless situation
isn't nearly as bad as it was in January 1993 for instance, when the claimant count figure peaked at a massive 17,619.
Nevertheless,
the unemployment statistics make grim reading for enthusiastic, goal-driven students who want to ensure they get a job in
their chosen field upon leaving.
College and university leavers who pin their hopes of entering graduate
jobs can often be faced with a long drawn-out process, with the period immediately after leaving education seeing many people
work in a temporary job which is often a continuation of their last 'college' job.
Some young people said
yesterday they can't afford to be selective in their search for work, while others who have found work sometimes complain
their qualifications did not seem particularly important to employers in helping them to secure their jobs - even in
the graduate sector.
Vicky McLaren (18), from Dalgety Bay, studied NC Dance last year but is doing so again
in a bid to achieve a higher level after the college cancelled the HNC course due to funding.
Vicky has two part-time
jobs, at Aberdour Golf Club and Debenhams in Dunfermline, to help make ends meet, but it can have an effect on her studies.
"I
work Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday and am in college the rest of the week but we've to also come in at other times
for rehearsals so it can be hard to fit it all in," she said.
Her classmate though, Trudie Reid
(17), from Dunfermline, is struggling to find a job to tide her over.
"I'm waiting to hear back
from Sky but there's nothing really here at the moment," she said.
NC travel and tourism student Lisa
White (17), from Burntisland, is juggling three jobs at the moment, combining her studies with work at a pub in Kinghorn,
a cafe in Kinghorn and DM Design in Kirkcaldy.
She is looking forward to a recruitment event at the college on March
1 where she can meet with travel companies to further her career chances.
"It is quite worrying about the
future but we've just got to keep applying for jobs," she said.
"You've got to try and get
noticed but with many airlines going bust, you might not get a job that lasts anyway."
Fellow travel and tourism
student Marc Anderson (18), from Kirkcaldy, said he was going to travel abroad this summer in search of the experience which
might stand him in good stead.
"It's been a complete nightmare trying to get a job and I'll do anything
I can at the moment," he said.
"I've applied everywhere and when you apply for a repping
job you'll have 50 people going for an interview, so it is going to be difficult.
"I've got a
friend who has got qualifications to do event management but he's ended up doing something completely different.
"I
don't think I'll give up though. I'll just keep going and going until I get the job I want."
