SOLVING TEETHING PROBLEMS
Widen your options when looking for your first full-time job
YOUNG people need to cast a wide net and think long term about their job options if they want to secure more hours.
Underemployment, in which workers are not given enough hours to meet their needs, is increasing in the Australian workforce and young people are disproportionately affected.
Federal Government figures show 18 per cent of workers aged 15 to 24 want and are available to work more hours. It compares to 10.1 per cent 20 years ago, and is more than double the underemployment rate of the general workforce (8.3 per cent).
School leavers and early-career workers can decrease their chances of underemployment by choosing work in industries that are less casualised.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals sales workers have the highest rates of underemployment at 18.7 per cent – up from 13.7 per cent recorded 20 years ago.
Similarly, 18.3 per cent of labourers (up from 14.1 per cent) and 17.9 per cent of community and personal services workers (up from 14.4 per cent) struggle to secure enough hours each week.
Sarina Russo Job Access chief operating officer Steve Wyborn recommends young people think about areas of skill shortage when choosing their career.
“It’s a supply and demand situation,” he says.
“If there is a skill shortage, not only is there more employment opportunity but opportunity for more hours.”
He highlights the traditional trades as one area where skills are in demand – including cookery, butchery, baking, automotive trades and smash repairs.
“Those industries are crying out for people to join the sector,” he says.
But no matter the role, Wyborn believes the key to securing more hours is for workers to make themselves indispensable to the company.
“That means making yourself as available as possible so you can get more shifts,” he says.
“It means making sure you are open to learning.
“It’s about looking for what you can do next rather than waiting to be told, being proactive about how you can be more productive.”
Wyborn encourages school leavers in particular to look into vocational education, not just university.
“It’s hand-on, practical and, for employers, you are seen as productive on day one,” he says.