Driven to find flexible options

Get active to find part-time work

YOUNG people who will be searching for part-time work to fit around study commitments in the new year should instead begin their job hunt now.

The hospitality and retail sectors – both known for flexible jobs – often hire before the busy holiday period, but coffee shops, fast-food kitchens and supermarket checkouts are not the only workplaces on offer.

As well as a need for an extra 14,100 bar attendants and baristas, 4800 fast-food cooks and 700 checkout operators and office cashiers in the next five years, Jobs department data forecasts 5400 extra delivery drivers. Nationally, this occupation is expected to increase by 9.5 per cent between 2018 and 2023.

While it includes workers with a truck licence needed to deliver large volumes of products, such as fresh produce, and those with a car licence to drive courier vans or utes and deliver smaller packages, workers who do not hold a driver’s licence can still work in the delivery sector by walking or riding bicycles.

Uber Eats, for example, partners with drivers and riders who deliver meals from restaurants to customers who order via a mobile phone app.

State manager Anjuli Steffen says more than 80 per cent of its delivery partners average fewer than 20 hours’ work a week, which is ideal for university students hoping to fit work around their studies.

“People can log in or out of the app when and where they

‘‘ ANYONE WHO HOLDS A LEARNER’S (CAR) LICENCE CAN APPLY FOR A JOB AS AN E-BIKE RIDER SO IT SUITS PEOPLE WHO DON’T HAVE A CAR AVAILABLE TO THEM.

NICK KNIGHT

choose, and are free to do deliveries with other apps,” she says.

In this set-up, drivers and riders must establish themself as a sole trader who is contracted to work and therefore responsible for their own tax obligations.

However, workers can also

apply for jobs directly with businesses if they prefer the more traditional employeremployee relationship.

Domino’s chief executive Nick Knight says the pizza

company is always looking for e-bike (electric bike) riders to deliver meals.

“It’s a big challenge for us to find and recruit enough team members,” he says.

“Anyone who holds a learner’s (car) licence can apply for a job as an e-bike rider so it suits people who don’t have a car available to them.”

Knight says riders do not

need past work experience, just a good attitude.

He says there are also opportunities for people to start in a delivery role and work their way up company ranks.