Will the pandemic of the unvaccinated turn into the epidemic of the unemployed?

Will the pandemic of the unvaccinated, and the anti-vaxxers, turn into an epidemic of the unemployed, Ann Moore Wason asks, as Qld’s cast of jobs that require a jab grows.

School is almost out, but now it’s time to get to work.

No matter what grade level our teens have completed (or what grades they receive), ’tis the season for student employment.

And while there has been an awful lot that this current generation of adolescents has endured – pandemics, postponements, lockdowns and cancellations – there is one reward they can all reap … a surging jobs market.

Get a job, or get a jab? It’s a tricky question.

This is set to be a Christmas season like no other.

Our tourism sector is already going into recruitment overdrive as we prepare for the return of interstate and eventually international visitors, with operators offering extraordinary incentives including free holidays and birthdays off.

And where the tourism industry goes, the hospitality industry follows … from clubs, pubs, cafes and fast-food outlets, there are plenty of positions available.

Even at our local shops, the sign of the times is clear to see. Literally. Because the sign is “help wanted” … at the IGA, at the coffee shop, at the takeaway joint.

My own son has just joined the workforce at the tender age of 14, flipping burgers at a fast-food restaurant.

After just a few shifts, I can see the change in him already – he has more discipline, more responsibility, more maturity … and more pimples.

That’s the price of working in the oil(y) industry, I guess. For every dollar he earns, I’ll be handing it right back to the dermatologist.

But it’s wonderful to see him embrace this next step in life and gain his first taste of financial independence, with all of the freedom that brings.

For all that we adults whinge about working, it’s pretty hard to live without it … while you may not love your job, it’s hard not to love getting paid.

A lot of these people will be choosing not to work anymore, if mandates are policed.

Because without economic autonomy, your options are pretty limited.

Which is why it’s so ironic that, moving into this post-vaccination society, we’re going to see those who are most vocally pro-choice really limit their choices.

They can’t enjoy a meal at the pub, and they can’t work there either.

And don’t say it’s discrimination … they’re free to choose, but not free from consequences. It’s all about making a decision and living (or not) with the outcome.

While we have all been warned that Covid-19 will soon become a pandemic of the unvaccinated, the truth is that it will also be an economic depression for the unvaccinated.

We are truly set to see a two-tiered economy.

As Bono once sang, “the rich stay healthy, the sick stay poor” … although now it’s the vaccinated who stay rich and healthy, the unvaxxed who will be sick and poor.

Not that a gig at the local IGA is going to secure your future fortune, but it’s not just jobs for the young on offer.

With Australia suffering a Covid-induced drought of skilled migrant workers, almost every industry is searching for employees. And the opportunities are growing every day.

‘Pro-choice’ supporters, hearing One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson speak at Broadbeach over the weekend.

Just last week, Gold Coast councillors backed a plan to expand a massive industrial estate in Yatala, bringing up to 40,000 jobs in the city’s north. And driving up the M1 over the weekend, it seemed there were more signs advertising jobs than the speed limit.

Meanwhile, count the cranes, count the development projects, count the new rail and new roads being built and it all adds up to our continuing construction boom. Then there are our new schools, ever-burgeoning health precincts and technology opportunities. It’s a great time to go job hunting.

As long as you’re vaccinated, that is.

But even with our students earning summer holiday spending money, it all counts. That first step into the workforce is one of the toughest, but by starting now they’re building their resumes at precisely the right time.

After all, nothing makes you more employable than being employed … and with every summer season that rolls by, this city will be hitting its strides right along with them.

The 2032 Olympics may be 10 years away, but it’s not just the athletes who are training early – it’s our economy too.

We’re gearing up our infrastructure, our development and our industries, we’re preparing for the greatest summer season of them all, and today’s summer workers will be tomorrow’s industry leaders. Not just for the Gold Coast, not just for Queensland, but for Australia.

So c’mon kids (and parents) – seize the vax, seize the cash and seize this moment in history.

It’s the very definition of Future Gold Coast.