The summer holidays provide the perfect opportunity for you to secure yourself a part-time job. Summer jobs for students can provide a whole host of benefits including being paid, gaining further work experience, developing new skills, networking and getting a taste of the working world.

With so many different summer job opportunities out there, we’ve compiled a list of the top recommended summer jobs. We’ve also included the skills they can help to develop. Depending on your studies and your future career aspirations, you can decide which one would best suit you.

Top Recommended Summer Jobs

Here are our top recommended summer jobs for students to give you some inspiration before you begin your job hunt:

  • Summer Camp Monitor

    There is a multitude of different summer camps that run every year in the UK. You can find summer camps with sports, language, film and IT to name a few. Summer camps are a great, fun way to spend your holidays whilst earning money and gaining experience. Most camps even provide staff with accommodation and food. This means you’ll be able to save the majority of your paycheck.

    Working as a summer camp monitor helps you to gain many new skills. These include time management, organisation, teamwork, leadership, and working with children.

  • Lifeguard

    If you get your National Pool Lifeguard Qualification (NPLQ), you open up a world of summer job opportunities. Working as a lifeguard is a great way to gain valuable work experience and skills that employers look for.

    Lifeguards are responsible for the safety and livelihood of the swimmers in their pools. They are disciplined, reliable, and capable of making critical decisions in an instant.

  • Retail Jobs

    Retail jobs span a wide range of businesses. These can include anything from supermarkets, fashion, electronics, and bookstores, the amount of choice is vast. Many retailers will offer flexible working hours and provide full training suitable for your role. Retail is usually a fast-paced environment. Therefore, you’ll be able to develop several transferable skills relating to multitasking, customer service, organisation, teamwork and initiative.

  • Festivals and Events

    Festivals and events provide various job opportunities, from stewarding and parking attendants to bar work and selling merchandise. They see an increase in customers during the summer months. Therefore, festivals and event managers are always on the lookout for students to fill jobs during the summer holidays.

    The main benefit of working at a festival means you can gain work experience whilst being at the heart of the event. Many companies present these roles as ‘volunteering’. However, either way, you can develop skills such as teamwork, time management, communication and customer service. These are all important skills for future employers.

  • Theme Parks

    Like festivals and events, theme parks provide numerous roles to choose from. These include ride attendants, entertainment, food and beverage assistants and cleaning. Many parks offer part-time or full-time positions, with varying shift times. They will also provide full training for your role. Along with adding to your work experience and skill development, many parks offer discounted or free entry to parks. This means you can have fun whilst also gaining valuable experience.

    Although theme parks are places for children and families to have fun, staff at theme parks must be responsible and reliable. They gain skills in dealing with the public, organisation, teamwork, problem-solving and health and safety.

Finding Summer Jobs

If you’re looking for summer jobs for students, you can begin your search right here on our Student and Graduate jobs board. Be sure to check back regularly for up-to-date information about summer student jobs near you.

We’ve also got dedicated guides on all areas of job searching from CV Writing Tips to the 5 Best Summer Jobs for Students.

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