Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

Talented Students Paid An Average Of £13.23 Per Hour

Students no longer have to earn at minimum wage rates to help them through their studies at college or university. An innovative website studentgems.com offers talented students opportunities to put their skills to good use and earn at a much better rate per hour.

With the introduction of top up fees and ever increasing cost of living, more and more students are working to help pay their way through college or university whilst aiming to keep their studies as top priority. Through the skills marketplace website studentgems.com they are now earning almost 3 times the minimum wage, giving them the opportunity to work less hours and still earn enough to buy their pizza and enjoy nights out.

Historically, students have supplemented their grants and loans by working in shops and bars or cleaning offices for the minimum wage, currently £4.60 per hour for young people between the ages of 18 and 21. By making use of the talents they have already developed, they are now earning on average £13.23 per hour for jobs found through studentgems.com.

Some of the more popular jobs completed through the site have been web development, web design and logo design where the talent and creativity of students is evident. Photography is also a popular choice with many brides-to-be opting for reportage style wedding photographs instead of the traditional groups.

Joanna Ward, co-founder of studentgems.com said “As the site has become more popular it is clear that customers are very happy to employ students. They appreciate the skills and talents and are delighted that the students receive 100% of the money for the job; we do not take any fees or commission. It has been a major factor in the success of the site.”

With over 1400 skills to choose from 100's of customers are finding studentgems.com to be an invaluable resource for ad hoc projects, from copy writing to tailoring and from gardening to clarinet lessons. The skills list continues to grow as students are coming forward every day to offer new skills – the latest offering to be added is stopmotion animation!

Case studies:

James Scholfield, a Southampton University Business Management student, has completed a few jobs through the site using his Excel skills. James commented “studentgems.com is a window of opportunity for all students from all backgrounds. With a wide range of clients and user friendly features, this service has the potential to be very successful.”

Rowan Wookey is studying Computing through the Open University and has developed a website for a customer in Buckinghamshire. He is also in contact with several other customers for web development jobs and said “studentgems.com offers great opportunities for students to find and gain work experience. It allows me to find clients all across the country and work from home which is ideal for integrating with my studies.”

Lauren Mead is reading South East Asian Studies at SOAS and first heard of studentgems.com through a trend-spotting website. She said “I really liked how it was quick and easy to register and there are a good variety of jobs on the boards. I don’t particularly enjoy bar work, so being able to earn money through other odd jobs is better for me. My job this week involved working for 2 days at the Country Living Spring Fair as a sales assistant for a Scottish soaperie, ‘Caurnie Soaps’. I had to pitch the various products to customers coming past the stand and then close the sale. It was a really fun couple of days and I got on well with James, who was my first point of contact through studentgems.com.”


Studentgems.com is the brainchild of Joanna Ward and Sue Harrison, two women who saw the potential for the idea of a “one-stop shop” for students and businesses throughout the UK. The website was launched in September 2007 and already has almost 2000 students and businesses registered and making full use of it. The site can be visited at http://www.studentgems.com and further case studies can be supplied.

For more info on studentgems.com, case studies, logos, photographs or artwork, or to arrange an interview with Joanna or Sue, contact media@studentgems.com or telephone 01753 882657