Student demand for part-time work is soaring, following the introduction of top-up fees up to £3,000 from the start of the next academic year, a leading student recruitment company has revealed.

Figures from “Employment 4 Students” show a dramatic increase in demand for student jobs. Chris Eccles, Managing Director of Employment 4 Students, says: “top up fees are having a huge impact on university life and the cost of student living. As a result we have experienced a significant increase in demand from students for term time and holiday jobs.”

There is concern that an increased need for students to undertake employment could have a negative effect on studies.

UCAS has recently reported a decline in university applications for the 2006 intake; the first such drop for six years. The National Union of Students claim the introduction of top up fees is preventing fair and equal access to higher education.

Alan Johnson, the Education Secretary, denies that top-up-fees are having an adverse effect on applications, dismissing the fees as “the price of a pint.” After graduation, a student will not start paying back fees until they are earning more than £15,000 per year.

Mr. Johnson has also refused to rule out an increase in top up fees when the current ‘price cap’ of £3,000 expires in 2010, claiming that by then attitudes to fees will have softened from the initial hostility that was experienced when they were proposed in 2002.

The University of York recommends that students restrict part time work to less than 15 hours per week to prevent a negative impact.

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