‘Adapt or die’ attitude needed
A Hobbiton tour guide laid off after coronavirus travel bans has adopted an ‘‘adapt or die’’ attitude that recruiters say will be crucial as the economy falters.
For four years, River Price worked as a shift leader and tour guide at Hobbiton Movie Set in Matamata. When news broke that NZ’s borders would close, Price knew she and her colleagues would soon be out of a job.
‘‘Even before Hobbiton had to close its doors, we knew,’’ she told ‘‘It was devastating, but it was expected.’’
In an announcement made in March, chief executive Russell Alexander said the tourist destination’s closure led to proposals for a drastic restructure that would affect nearly all of Hobbiton’s 266 staff.
The proposed restructure would see as many as 241 permanent employees and a small number of fixed-term and casual staff redundant.
That meant Price, 26, and her colleagues had to find other employment during alert level 4 – despite the role at Hobbiton being a dream job for many.
‘‘I absolutely loved it there,’’ Price said. ‘‘I think one thing I really enjoyed was that most of us had become a second family.’’
Price studied travel and tourism at the NZ School of Tourism before working overseas at Disney World, but she knew finding another job in the hard-hit industry during lockdown would be impossible.
As soon as Hobbiton’s closure was announced, a friend contacted Price about jobs available at Allied Security.
‘‘I thought, all right, I’ll try and find a new job and save as much money as I can until tourism picks up again,’’ she said.
‘‘Security was definitely not the lifelong dream for me; it’s always been the tourism industry and working and travelling, but most of us can’t afford to not have a job.’’
For five weeks, Price and another ex-Hobbiton colleague manned the doors outside Countdown in Whitianga – a stark contrast to her previous employment, where a ‘‘more the merrier’’ mindset was commonplace.
‘‘It was going from a positive job role to a job where you had to stop people from grabbing groceries and make sure they followed the rules.
‘‘It was nerve-racking for the first week or so.’’ But the people of Whitianga ‘‘showed kindness on the door’’ and the staff at Countdown made her feel a part of the team.
Madison Recruitment northern regional manager Oscar Dunn said it was normal for people to be apprehensive to move into jobs outside their comfort zones but the situation demanded an ‘‘adapt or die’’ mentality.
‘‘Both employees and employers need to have a flexible and openminded approach to the job market at the moment. It’s going to be full of really experienced candidates with a wide variety of different skills who are attempting to apply those to different industries,’’ he said.
‘‘Employers should keep an open mind to considering people with those types of skills even though they may not have worked in that industry, and employees, the people that have found themselves displaced and out of work
‘‘Security was definitely not the lifelong dream
. . . but most of us can’t afford to not have a job.’’
River Price
former Hobbiton Movie Set tour guide
due to Covid-19, shouldn’t pigeonhole themselves to a specific industry.’’
Dunn said the agency had been contacted by several businesses affected by redundancy, or which required assistance. Some employed thousands of staff.
He said people should consider temporary employment as a chance to work for a brief time in a different industry, obtain new experience, and earn an income.
‘‘I think the job market will change from traditional permanent employment and fixed-term opportunities. Those will still exist, but we will see an increase in temporary employment opportunities.
‘‘That will give people who have been displaced the opportunity to go into different industries and try something new without necessarily being locked into it for a long period of time.
‘‘I think that’s the kind of change and flexibility the job market needs right now.’’
And while Price was still looking for more security work, she said she was open to other careers as well.
‘‘For me, trying to look for jobs out of the tourism industry was a good way to learn new skills.
‘‘I think people should try keep positive and try something new. If it doesn’t work out, you can just keep looking. What else can we do? It’s better than sitting around waiting for Covid to not be here any more.’’