It is No Double Trouble for Working Youths

It is No Double Trouble for Working Youths

Youths portray a positive insight in working part-time during school weeks.

Piles of clothes are casually dumped on her hands as she scrambles to allocate a fitting room for eager shoppers to try out clothes.

This is part of a typical workday for Siti Fazira, 18, who works in retail store Dorothy Perkins while pursuing her diploma in Integrated Events Management in Republic Polytechnic (RP). Fazira also manages the cashiering booths and handles customer enquiries. She works part-time at least twice a week, sometimes immediately after a hectic day of classes.

It is common for students to work part-time, especially during the holidays. Schools are even encouraging students to work part-time. In Ngee Ann Polytechnic (NP), students have a myriad of part-time jobs to choose from on the homepage of NP’s learning board, MEL.

However, many students are still shying away from extra jobs during school weeks. Only 20 per cent of youths surveyed online work part-time during school periods. In addition, 74 per cent of respondents who do not work part-time cited school commitments for their reasons. Half of the respondents also do not encourage students to work during school periods.

“Working can be very exhausting, especially if I have to complete my projects and assignments hurriedly before I rush down to work,” Fazira adds.

“I thought I could work nearby school after lessons because it feels convenient,” says Bridget Bay, 18, an Infocomm Security Management student studying in Singapore Polytechnic (SP). “However, my school and work schedule always seem to clash so I just decided to concentrate on school.” She used to work in food and beverage (F&B) and retail stores during school periods, but eventually left after a few weeks because it took a toll in her time management.

Since Fazira began working in March 2014, she has been paying for her own expenses and has stopped taking money from her parents.