Labouring to Learn: Students’Debt and Term Time Employment in Belfast

Abstract This paper presents the results of a survey into the labour market experiences of 363 undergraduate students in the Department of Sociology and Social Policy at Queen's University, Belfast. The first pan of the paper will look at the debate surrounding the introduction of the Student Loans Scheme and the associated abolition of welfare benefit entitlements. The second pan of the paper will present the findings of the survey. Particular reference will be made to the financial situation facing undergraduate students and the extent to which term‐time employment presents a solution to their monetary problems.