Applications to sabbatical positions expected to increase this year

There has been speculated increase in applications for sabbatical positions due to the economic downturn and rebuild.

With the imminent completion of the Union South, coupled with the recent economic downturn, the role Union Sabbatical Officer is becoming an increasing appealing alternative to final year students wanting to gain some invaluable experience before leaving the bubble.

While the exact number of applicants still remains uncertain as at this stage, Mike Pidgeon, Communications Officer for the Students’ Union, noted that there is definitely an increase in interest in sabbatical positions this year.

He commented, “I am absolutely sure that we’ll have plenty of strong candidates for sabbatical positions, plenty of competitions and plenty of interest in the election.”

In the last sabbatical election, there were four candidates competing for President, four for Education, two for Communication, five for Welfare, two for Governance and Finance, six for Societies, and six for Sports.

Pidgeon said the potential reasons behind the “speculated increase” are down to two main factors: the completion of the Union rebuild and the global economic crisis.

“It would be an absolutely exciting year next year, with the rebuild complete,” explained Pidgeon, “The new Sabbs get to inherit the brand new £11 million building.”

“It’ll be immensely exciting for those guys, we did a load of hard work and then they get all the benefits,” Pidgeon joked.

On the other hand, the global economic downturn understandably reduced the available career options for future graduates, which in turn makes being a Union Sabb an increasingly attractive option.

“Sabbatical is quite a good offer in a sense that some of [the students] will think that it is going to look fantastic on a CV, I wouldn’t recommend people went for it just for the CV benefits.”

On top of managing an organisation which has a massive £6 million turnover and over 220 societies, Pidgeon warned that sabbatical officers must be prepared to work long hours and offer real commitment to their positions.

In terms of the potential effect of such increase in applications, Pidgeon commented that it would be “good to have a mix of people in the union with different levels of experience” and the number of applicants would be “the more the merrier”.

However, Pidgeon added that there should still be an emphasis on “quality not quantity” of the applications.

Pidgeon warmly encourages any potential applicants to “go for it”, although “It isn’t easy getting elected.”