Travaq offers students personalised temporary jobs
A new specialist employment agency hires young people as matchmakers to help find the perfect job for fellow students
The perfect match
Although Travaq does not promote itself as a temporary employment agency, it has grown out of one. One of the initiators is Anke Ulens, CEO of Vivaldis employment agency in Antwerp, where the head office of Travaq is established. Vivaldis also provides the budget for the platform. The other co-founder is Werner Viaene, who has 15 years’ experience in the sector and is now the co-ordinator of the project.
“We established Travaq because we noticed that the temporary employment sector in Flanders was not adapted to the social environment of students, because student jobs are not their core business,” says Viaene. “We often heard complaints from students about agencies’ communication.” According to Viaene, agencies normally don’t take into account students’ specific profile, but refer them to any job for which there is a vacancy.
“A survey among about 1,500 students showed that only 23% of students in Flanders were happy about their student job,” says Viaene. “If young people’s competences are not considered important by agencies, the job they provide will in most cases remain just an opportunity to get some pocket money, without helping them to develop skills that can prove essential in their later career.”
Mixing work and study
To provide students with jobs that have a useful link with their studies and interests, Travaq counts on students themselves. Since its launch in September, Travaq has recruited a team of 10 students, known as matchmakers. “They work around eight hours a week, like most of our job students, which should leave them sufficient time to study,” explains Viaene.
It’s interesting to see how managers maintain close contact with clients and other contacts
The matchmakers are based in three student cities: Ghent, Leuven and Antwerp. They are trained to deal with the specific social legislation, administration and software and can count on the assistance of “coach” Viaene and an “ask-it buddy” at Travaq who answers questions about contracts and other issues.
One of the matchmakers is Charlèss Dupont, a 22-year-old nursing student at Karel de Grote University College in Antwerp. Much of her work takes place online, as communication for a large part occurs via websites, social media, student forums and email. However, she also actively looks for potential employees via her personal networks of friends and fellow students. She regularly meets up on campus with youngsters interested in temporary work.
Matching a student with a job that fits their profile is generally straightforward. “It can be interesting to link a student with a job directly related to their studies,” she says. She refers to the example of a student in a biomedical discipline who got a job as online communication officer for the Fat Stem company, which specialises in stem-cell therapy for animals. ”But you also have to look further than the studies,” she says. “A student in a medical discipline might also have a keen interest in gardening, which makes a job in this sector attractive.”
Personal approach
Since the beginning of October, Viktor Feyt, who studies SME management at Karel de Grote University College, has been working in logistics at Eyndwerk Promoties in Hoboken, near Antwerp, via Travaq. For this events and logistics company, Feyt mostly works on the organisation of cyclo-cross races, on average for about eight hours a week.
“The working conditions are flexible; there is absolutely no problem if I can’t work because of my lesson or exam schedule,” says Feyt. He is also happy with Travaq’s communication methods. “I have worked via temporary employment agencies in the past, but they mostly treat you as just a number instead of a person,” he says. “Travaq’s approach is more spontaneous and personal.”
He also feels the experience will be helpful in his later career. “I am learning about the business world in class, but now I can also see how it works in real life,” he says. “For example, it’s interesting to see how managers maintain close contact with their clients and other contacts.”
Travaq provides jobs at about 30 client companies and since September has helped about 250 students to find a temporary job.
