Teenager floored by response to job post

‘‘Hey there I’m 17 years of age looking for some full time work. I’ve had passed [sic] experience with insulation of houses and also in hospitality industry. Looking for any work would prefer more hands on work love the outdoors and a good challenge.’’

About an hour after this social media post, Caleb Mclaughlan had two job offers.

By lunchtime the following day, about 15 people had contacted him with job opportunities – one as a roofer, one as a shearer, and some in hospitality.

The 17-year-old Blenheim lad said he was quite surprised by the amount of replies.

‘‘I wasn’t expecting that.’’ Carpet Court Blenheim was the first company to contact Mclaughlan. A 15-minute interview the following day, and he was a flooring installer.

He started his new job two weeks ago. ‘‘They seemed to be happy and pretty keen to take me on. I start with $25 an hour. I’m happy with that.’’

Mclaughlan left school at 16 and worked in a fish and chip shop. ‘‘It was a bit of everything, from cooking burgers to deepfrying to picking up phone calls and cash register. Then I did insulation for houses, the ceilings and underfloors, for five months.’’

Both jobs were fulltime but weren’t permanent.

Carpet Court Blenheim director David Mcmurtry said he was always looking for people to hire, and when someone showed ‘‘keenness’’, he ‘‘jumped on them’’.

‘‘Don’t email me, don’t call me, don’t send ... a CV. You walk through the door, you introduce yourself and you say you’re looking for a job, and that was essentially the interview process [with Mclaughlan].

‘‘And I said, ‘We’re not going to work anything out until we can see how you work. And so you can start tomorrow’. We picked him up the next day.’’

It was constantly hard to find labour, and to find a ‘‘young person that is prepared to work’’, Mcmurtry said.

The flooring company has seven fulltime employees. While

Mclaughlan didn’t have relevant experience, he was ‘‘the clay that we need to mould into a tradesman’’, Mcmurtry said.

Marlborough Regional Skills Leadership Group (RSLG) cochair Corey Hebberd said about 10% of young people were Not in Employment Education or Training (NEET). This rate was higher for young Ma¯ ori (16% nationally).

Marlborough had a strong labour market with many opportunities, but it could be difficult for employers to attract people to the region and to their sector, Hebberd said.

‘‘Employers told us that perceptions or lack of awareness around the opportunities in Marlborough limits people’s interest in applying for roles.’’