Student Employees: A Popular Choice for Companies

The accessibility to qualified labor where companies currently lack resources is in high demand today. Luckily, the market for student jobs is growing and the recruitment and staffing industry is taking on this opportunity.




The term “student employees” stems from Denmark, where it is common for students to have a qualified part-time job alongside their studies. In Sweden, it is so far not so common, among neither students nor employers. But there is great growth potential.

The proportion of highly educated people has increased over time in Sweden. In 2020, 44% of the population continued to study after upper secondary school. Applications for higher education increased by 13% from 47,000 people applying in 2019 to 407,000 people applying in 2020. This may be an effect of the coronavirus and the current situation of the labor market. Nevertheless, recruiters can now employ the abundance of students and expand their operations.

There are great advantages for recruitment and staffing companies in recruiting students, especially since it is cost-effective. Students can often contribute as much as a graduate but at a much lower cost. Some students can even be responsible for certain departments, they are that good. In addition, as a customer, you only pay for the hours that the student works and nothing else. 

Today, many competitors are working to appoint students. It is positive that many companies are giving students the chance to work, one player in the field is not enough. There is, however, plenty of room for more players in the industry. Consequently, it is important to constantly offer tailor-made solutions and high quality to gain a competitive advantage over customers.

Throughout university, many students find it difficult to get in touch with companies and find a practical experience that complements their studies. Co-operation with students is a way for students to gain experience of working life and add new perspectives to the company. Students have fresh knowledge in their field, allowing them to contribute to an organization with ideas and innovation.

The recruitment of talented students contributes to increased societal growth. Students are an important long-term investment, as they are the future generation. Creating an early relationship with them can advance a well-established workforce. Student employees also strengthen employer branding, as a company can show that they work with the future generation. This contributes to a large candidate network, making it easier to find and hire suitable people for future jobs. Current students can even become ambassadors and attract more potential employees during their studies, i.e. fellow students.

Let’s not forget the pandemic’s effect on the development of student employees. Initially, demand for the services declined as many companies chose to wait in hiring new employees. But a positive effect is that changes to flexible or complete remote work opened up the possibility for more students to get jobs. Jobs are no longer limited to one geographical location. Companies can now relieve tasks that internal employees cannot spend time on, (focusing on valuable tasks instead) remotely!

The growth opportunities increase every day. As more organizations move to project-based and smaller tasks, the recruitment and staffing industry benefits from student personnel. Companies do not always need a full-time employee, but instead, benefit from using flexible solutions that meet their needs. Our environment is constantly characterized by uncertainty and economic fluctuations, which means that staffing solutions, like student employees, are flexible alternatives.

Text av Sarah Tavakol

Publicerad av Viktor Cederholm