As a true digital native, it’s through social media and an app that Sara found her first agency work job. In addition to first working experience, she is earning income that helps financing her studies in communications and her driving license.

Sara is a 20-year-old Communications Management student in Belgium. She has an agency work job as a salesperson in a shop which she secured after seeing an ad on social media and applying via the online flexible job app NOWJOBS. Sara enjoys her job and she is confident that the experience which she has gained will also be of use to her in her future working life. She has learned to work independently and to deal with customers. She has also learned to take responsibility as she is sometimes on her own in the shop and in charge of opening up the
store in the morning and closing it at the end of the day. Her job has helped her to discover what she enjoys, and what she doesn’t enjoy, and has made her plan well so that she can combine work with her studies without falling behind.

For Sara the whole process at NOWJOBS has been quick and simple. Everything was done digitally via the app and she never had to go anywhere in person. When she needed to communicate with them, she just sent an email and received a response by the next day. If she was ill, or not sure of her pay, she just emailed and they would be in touch. Sara also appreciates the flexibility that NOWJOBS offers. You can indicate on the app when you want to work and change your availability if something crops up. Once you have signed your contract then of course you need to discuss with your employer if you want to change your hours, in order to find a solution together. Her boss understands that she is a student who is combining work with study and so tries to be accommodating.

In addition to job satisfaction, Sara’s student job has brought her financial independence. She does not have to ask her parents before she goes shopping now because she is spending her own money. Working has also taught Sara to budget, and she is currently saving for lessons to get her driving license.

Agency work offers a high level of flexibility for workers who want to balance their professional life with other responsibilities or priorities. Students, and young people in general, may be searching for a way to combine their education with some work or be looking for a successful first entry point into working life. Young people are suffering from the aftermath of the global health crisis, as a generation of “lockdown graduates” and those who were just about to enter the labour market find themselves at risk of falling out of the labour force entirely. Private employment services are a crucial element in the activation toolbox and can contribute to raising youth employment.

For more data on the contribution of the sector, check our Social Impact Report 2021.