UK England--July 2009--Graduates go door to door to make ends meet
A growing number of the students graduating from university this month are selling door-to-door as they seek to find employment during the recession and pay off record levels of student debt.

Kleeneze, which has 18,000 catalogue distributors nationwide, has reported a 188% rise in the number of full-time students and new graduates applying to sell items door-to-door. This group now represents 7.2% of its base of UK distributors, compared to just 2.5% at this time last year.

The company is now gearing up to accept more applications as the class of 2009 graduates, swapping their mortar boards for selling ironing boards as word of mouth recommendation spreads from fellow student distributors.

Jamie Stewart, managing director of Kleeneze, says: “This year’s graduates are the first to have been subject to £3,000 a year top up fees throughout their courses and as such have needed to find ways to earn extra income to make ends meet.

“Our catalogues have always been popular with student customers, but increasingly we’re seeing them cross sides and apply to be Kleeneze distributors. This year the numbers have rocketed, possibly because of the recession as traditional part-time student work becomes much harder to find.”

Kleeneze reports that its average part-time student worker earns £500 to £600 each month. Of the graduates who joined last year, the top performing full-time distributor (aged 22) is now earning the equivalent of a £25,801 annual salary.

To find out more about becoming a Kleeneze distributor, call 0844 848 5000 or visit www.kleeneze.co.uk
Notes to editors
About Kleeneze
Kleeneze distributors go door-to-door delivering and picking up catalogues from households, taking orders and then dropping off their customers’ products. They earn money for every order placed and can also build a team of fellow distributors to further boost their earnings.

The catalogues feature over xx products ranging from everyday essentials to innovations that you never knew you needed.

Kleeneze has over 18,000 distributors across the UK, Ireland and parts of Europe. The company estimates that its distributors visit 2.5 million homes every month, delivering over 10 million catalogues and generating over half a million orders.


Graduate Unemployment / Debt

A recent study by the Higher Education Careers Service Unit (HECSU) estimated that of this year’s graduates, 40,000 would still be unemployed 6 months after leaving full time education (double the average figure from previous years). This equates to 1 in 10 of this year’s graduates.

Research conducted by the National Union of Students estimates that the introduction of top up fees three years ago will mean that this year’s graduates will leave university or college with a record average debt of £21,739.



Jeanette
havextra@blueyonder.co.uk

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