Madam,

Developing our students’ employability skills is an important element of our work at Aberystwyth University. Many of our degree courses include a year in industry, a year abroad or structured work placements; and we appreciate that local businesses offer part-time employment opportunities too.

We also offer opportunities for part-time paid work through our internal AberWorks scheme – for example, working as a guide on open days and visiting days or in one of our catering outlets such as the bar and cafes in the students’ union.

This scheme was mentioned in a report in last week’s Cambrian News and we would like to clarify the headline that Students make up 22 per cent of uni’s workforce.

Although the head count may seem high, the hours worked by students are part-time only and can range from up to 15 hours a week to a few hours a term.

When added together, the hours worked by students represent 2.1 per cent of the total, full-time, equivalent posts in the university in 2016-17. We hope this makes the situation more clear to readers.

Yours etc,

Heather Hinkin, deputy director, Human Resources, Aberystwyth University, Penglais, Aberystwyth.

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