How Safe Is Student Job Search?
How did a man who once violently stabbed a woman & was found insane by the courts list a job on SJS?
Note: the name of the student in this story has been changed, indicated by an asterisk.
Hi,
Logging into Student Job Search (SJS) is a right of passage for any conscientious university student in New Zealand who’s not a trust-fund baby.
Since 1982, SJS has been the leader in student employment in New Zealand — and is currently the largest student employment service in the country. SJS is how you attempt to find a job — any job — that will help offset the horrific amount of debt you’re racking up every single day of study.
When I was 21 I ended up being a tour guide on a volcanic island off the coast of Auckland. Thankfully for me and the various tourists who visited, Rangitoto was no longer active, scientists estimating it last erupted about 600 years ago.
My life as a tour guide was short lived, but decades later students like Sarah* are still using student job search to find employment.
“As a student, I find myself doom scrolling student job search on the daily. To be honest, it’s my new social media addiction,” Sarah tells me. “I’ve gotten heaps of odd jobs through the website, I love it. But recently I came across a job ad that caught my eye.”
She sent me the listing for a production assistant — all fairly standard and unremarkable — paying between $23.50 and $25 an hour.
The listing went on:
As a Production Assistant, you’ll be at the heart of our operation, ensuring that every can of Akene meets the highest standards. From sourcing ingredients to overseeing the fermentation process, from sealing and distributing products to managing inventory — you will have a direct impact on the success of our brand.
The job description sounded like Sarah would be the one extra employee working with the the founder. Sarah was intrigued. “The job looked interesting to me so I did a bit of Googling just to get some info for my application.”
She went to the companies website — akene.co.nz — and discovered it was a startup beverage brand:
A rapidly-growing startup company in the beverage industry with a strong focus on innovation, sustainability, and customer satisfaction. Akene presents an attractive business opportunity seeking to serve the growing demand for premium beverages in the Australasian marketplace.
The founder was Godfrey Okot — so before she started her application she decided to find out more about him, too. The Google results weren’t what she had in mind — returning a series of news articles that had been published four years ago:
I read on:
A mentally ill Hutt Valley man with a violent past stabbed a woman several times during the coronavirus lockdown a year ago.
A neighbour saved the woman using a sports bat to fight off Godfrey Lubangakene Okot, 25. Okot was not guilty of attempted murder due to insanity, a judge at the High Court in Wellington decided recently.
Okot was told that using illicit drugs could aggravate his schizophrenia, but he continued using cannabis and added methamphetamine, the judge heard.
The evidence suggested that over the past three years Okot had homicidal beliefs and intents, and had seriously assaulted people while under psychiatric care or follow up in the community.
He was a danger to others, the judge said.
Even when Okot was showing only minimal signs of his illness he had inappropriate sexual behaviour that became more aggressive when his condition worsened, she said.
The question was whether this was the same Godfrey who was now brewing a new beverage.
A search in the company register shows the full name of the director of Akene as “Godfrey Lubangakene Okot” — an exact match on the man who’d stabbed a woman during lockdown. A further Google result said the man was 28 as of 2024, which put him at 25 in 2021 — matching the age of the accused.
Webworm notes Okot was not guilty of attempted murder, due to insanity. The question was whether SJS was even aware of the case.
And if they missed this — what else are they missing?
Sarah was alarmed — penning an email to SJS to May 1 find out what was going on:
“This same name returns a quite frightening news report about a guy who very violently stabbed a woman after taking illicit drugs which aggravated his schizophrenia. This report also mentions a history of violent offenses and inappropriate sexual behaviour. The job Ad is for Lower Hutt and the news report cites Hutt Valley.”
She went on — extending the benefit of the doubt, even though the window of doubt was very, very small:
“By all means this could be a case of a guy who unfortunately shares the same name as someone. But I feel responsible to at least inform you of this research, especially given that by the demographics of SJS young people may be applying for this role.”
The next day Sarah received a generic reply from “SJS Team” that stated:
“I understand how seeing news that has a connection in name to this job listing may be disconcerting especially when it is so serious. Looking at the information you provided us I can not see any certain connection apart from name between these circumstances.”
Their email concluded that they would pass it onto a manager.
Sarah replied with a further question about the vetting of jobs, and received a further response on May 2. This was also signed off “SJS Team.”
We have security checks in place to identify users who are not eligible to use our site. Although our security processes are confidential, we are confident that we are able to maintain our organisation’s integrity and credibility.
Your feedback is taken seriously and will help guide our process improvements as it is passed along to my manager.
Our focus is always on delivering the best outcomes for students and employers.
The listing remained online, taking applications.
As for Sarah — she wasn’t so confident about SJS’s “confidential security processes”, and wondered about what — if any — protections were in place.
“SJS is a New Zealand institution who advertises widely on tertiary education campuses. It’s a website I have been using since I was doing my first degree at Massey University. I started university at 17 years old in 2013, and I was an idiot.
I also remember that year getting my first job at EBGames. It wasn’t a bad job by any measure, but I look back and wish I’d told more people to get fucked. Basically, I put up with things because I was young, didn’t know better, and there was an inherent power dynamic because of the employer/employee relationship.
I feel strongly that there should be protections in place to ensure that our students (such as dumb, naïve, 17 year old Sarah) aren’t going into workplaces — including homes — where there are people who aren’t of good character. Is that too much to ask? Is SJS’s Terms and Conditions good enough?”
Webworm wondered that too — and whether SJS’s “confidential security processes” involved any criminal background checks, or even a simple Google search about potential employers of Kiwi students.
Their attitude so far seemed to boil down to, “I can not see any certain connection apart from name.”
Webworm has since spoken to Okot and confirmed he is the same man.
With that in mind, Webworm contacted Student Job search, asking about their vetting processes, the action (or lack thereof) they’d taken so far in this particular case, and whether they had any rules or conditions that would stop someone listing a job (such as someone found not guilty of attempted murder due to insanity).
They were given a deadline of 5pm the next day.
SJS Chief Executive Louise Saviker got back to Webworm at 5.15pm, saying, “We have been investigating the issue you raised with us. It is certainly a unique and unusual situation.”
She added that she needed “some additional time until tomorrow morning to finalise our response for you.”
Webworm checked the listing, and found that it had been removed.
Just before midday today, SJS Chief Executive Louise Saviker answered Webworm’s enquiries.
In regards to whether the action taken in regards to this case was appropriate, Saviker said:
“The enquiry you have raised is unique and complex.
Following an investigation, we have removed the job listing from our website while we seek legal advice. This decision is appropriate to protect all parties involved. SJS seeks to protect the interests of both employers and students and are bound by New Zealand legislation.
We have looked at all options, and we consider our response to be appropriate given all factors and information available to us.”
When Webworm also asked whether SJS would be strengthening their vetting processes in light of this “unique” case, Saviker wouldn’t get specific:
“SJS takes all issues raised with us very seriously. Each individual job reported to us is reviewed and managed through our complaints process. We strive to continuously improve our processes and guidelines every time an issue arises.
We welcome and encourage members of the public or students to get in touch with us whenever a concern arises.”
Webworm also enquired about the vetting processes in place for those listing jobs — well before a complaint is ever made:
“SJS has a stringent review process to ensure that roles listed on our website comply with legislation and our own guidelines. Our process involves reviewing listed roles as well as reported jobs.
We work hard every day to ensure the integrity of our service for students and employers. Employers must agree to our Terms and Conditions and Rules of Conduct before listing jobs.
This includes agreeing to only list jobs that comply with New Zealand law and refraining from any behaviour that may harm students.
To maintain a high standard, we regularly audit our system and update our guidelines and procedures in response to emerging challenges.”
Saviker said employers can only list roles with SJS that comply with New Zealand law, and that they have guidelines “to ensure roles are appropriate for students.”
In light of that, Webworm asked if this included someone found not guilty of attempted murder due to insanity.
“While it is difficult to consider every conceivable scenario that may arise, we have a robust process to manage complaints. When concerns are raised directly with us, we conduct investigations, seeking additional information or clarification to ensure that the role remains suitable for listing.
We consider fairness and the legal rights of both parties.”
People are capable of change.
Violent offenders are capable of rehabilitation, and of becoming productive members of society. They are able to start businesses and sell drinks. Okot himself told Webworm he believes he’s not a risk, and has addressed his past.
What is concerning here is that it appears SJS simply had no idea about any of this. They had no idea the director of a company listing a job for students had a troubling history of violence, methamphetamine use, and mental health issues including schizophrenia.
It’s not that these issues are insurmountable or unforgivable — it’s that SJS had no idea.
SJS boasts 248,000 active job seekers on their website — “the largest database of students and graduates in the country.” As Sarah told me earlier, “I feel strongly that there should be protections in place. Is that too much to ask?”
Perhaps it is.
I think it’s a reminder to do what Sarah did — to do something so many people still forget to do: Google it. I still get emails from people sucked into various traps laid by Michael Organ. If they’d Googled him, they probably would’ve thought twice about doing business with him:
(To get rid of the horrible AI generated results at the top, just add “-ai” in your search, or — I am not joking — the word “fuck” or “fuckin”. The AI won’t touch it.)
Do more than Google, too: check your country’s version of the companies register or charities register. That’s largely how I keep an eye on the antics going on internally at those horrible megachurches like Hillsong and Arise.
Still, the fact remains: This particular example was found when an applicant did a simple Google search. It appears in this case — and potentially thousands of others — Student Job Search couldn’t even manage that.
If you have further information, story tips, or want to get in touch in confidence about any story you want covered on Webworm, I am always: davidfarrier@protonmail.com. Due to high volumes of email I can’t respond to everything, but they are all read.
I’ll echo the other comments, SJS isn’t doing fuck all to check employers, and likely potential employees. Sounds like they never have. They seem to be one incident away from legal trouble, although the defense strategy of “you volunteered for it” seems to be cemented in place. I would maybe recommend not using it but I don’t know if there are alternatives. Also, be a Sarah and do a decent search of potential employers in ANY situation.
The response from SJS is poor. They’ve used a whole bunch of word salad platitudes instead of actually acknowledging some accountability and responsibility.
But this is all very indicative of how we treat young people moving into the world. My daughter is 22 and went through some awful employment situations that I can guarantee wouldn’t haven’t happened to someone older. She still gets taken advantage of and is not treated equal. I think this prevailing attitude that young people should just be grateful for work, but they’re not yet quite real humans is to blame. Like shitty employment and working conditions are just a rite of passage.