Student Job Search chief executive Suzanne Boyd said SJS was partnering with MPI throughout the country to connect seasonal employers to students looking for rural work.
The partnership had already begun with "Pick this, pick that", an online marketing campaign which connected students to thousands of summer fruit picking roles jobs, until March.
"With our summer fruit growers relying on New Zealanders to get cherries picked and shipped overseas, and to pick other summer fruit for the domestic market, these roles are more important than ever," Ms Boyd said.
SJS said 170 Otago summer fruit-picking jobs and 15 other rural jobs were already available for Dunedin tertiary students.
Ms Boyd said the "Pick this, Pick that" campaign was being promoted through several online platforms, including the SJS internet site.
Anyone clicking a link on the campaign image was taken to a Work the Seasons website where job listings — provided by MPI from seasonal employers — could be found and students could apply, she said.
Seasonal Solutions Cooperative Ltd chief executive Helen Axby, of Alexandra, said Dunedin tertiary students could take up many good summer jobs in rural Otago, including cherry picking in January.
Workers often made their own arrangements, but some growers did provide accommodation and others made available camping areas for fruit pickers, she said.
Ministry of Social Development regional labour market manager Emma Hamilton, of Dunedin, said there were many seasonal jobs in rural Otago, including fruit picking, given that many overseas seasonal workers could not enter the country.
Jobs were also emerging in other areas, including Dunedin, she said.
