Social Side Gig is a free student-jobs-programme where students are recruited into flexible, part-time roles in the social care sector.
We enter into a partnership-plan with each place of higher education, setting out:
how students will find out about the programme,
how flexible the jobs need to be to meet course requirements.
Our service is aimed at students studying for a career relating to health and social work who are actively looking for part-time work while they complete their studies. The service is free for students and students are employed directly with a local social care organisation.
Why Social Side Gig?
The benefit of our approach is:
students are offered part-time jobs from vetted employers who are willing to be flexible and invest in a student's professional development;
Social Side Gig can intervene on a student's behalf if an employer is not being as flexible or invested in a student's professional development as they said they would;
Social Side Gig will raise awareness of the programme among graduates employers, ensuring Social Side Gig is widely recognised and respected by graduate employers.
Is the programme open to all students?
Right now, the programme is aimed at students studying for a career relating to health or social work or who have experience providing social care in a professional or personal capacity.
Students must be interested in a part-time job with a high-level of responsibility and be motivated to develop their professional skills and deliver social impact.
Students must also be willing to join the PVG scheme and register with the Scottish Social Services Council (students will be guided through these requirements).
What is expected from students?
Ahead of recruiting students, we speak to higher education careers staff and social care organisations and agree minimum rules such as:
students cannot be required to work more than 12 hours per week,
students cannot be required to work during specific periods, (such as periods set aside for revision, exams and course-placements).
Students are expected to commit to working at least 300 hours for their employer (which is the equivalent of working 12 hours per week for 5.75 months). Once a student has worked 300 hours, they will be eligible to receive a certificate and a personalised letter of reference.
How is the programme funded?
The programme is free for students. Social Side Gig charges employers a fee for each student hired through the programme.
How is the programme delivered?
We have links with social care organisations and membership bodies representing social care organisations, as well the regulatory body regulating social care work in Scotland. We follow best-practice recruitment principles from evidence-based texts on values-based social care recruitment.
FAQs
