Coronavirus Mornington Peninsula: Finding local work during lockdown
The number of people looking for work on the Mornington Peninsula has soared during lockdown. But landing a local job is still possible. A recruitment expert tells us who’s hiring.
South East
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Victoria’s deadly virus outbreak and long lockdown has taken a devastating toll on jobs and employment on the Mornington Peninsula, new figures show.
Unemployment in the region climbed to 5.6 per cent in August compared with 4.6 in August last year, according to data compiled exclusively for Leader.
The number of men looking for work in that time jumped 22 per cent and women in the region were hit even harder by the pandemic, with their unemployment rate soaring by 24 per cent.
According to job search engine Adzuna there were just four job positions available across the Mornington Peninsula on Friday.
All were being advertised via job agencies and the majority were in the health sector including positions for a registered nurse, a physiotherapist and a senior sonographer.
But recruiter Liz Wells said there were a lot more opportunities available for job seekers who were prepared to be flexible.
“There are lots of jobs within the horticultural and agriculture sector on the Mornington Peninsula,” she said.
“I have one client who needs four tractor drivers now,” she said.
“The position is permanent, it’s located just 10 minutes from Frankston and pays $28 an hour for up to a 50 hour week.
“That’s a pretty good opportunity and all you need is a manual drivers licence.”
Ms Wells said demand for seasonal fruit pickers would also continue as border closures meant farms could not source backpackers for the work.
She said people prepared to upskill would also find it easier to land a job.
“Something simple like getting an AgVet Chemical Users Course, which costs about $400 and can be covered via a grant, opens more doors,” she said.
The horse racing industry was another to consider.
“Stable hands are always in demand and it’s a job that has really flexible hours which makes it suitable for parents,” Ms Wells said.
Ms Wells works with Agricultural Appointments to connect employers with potential employees in agriculture, agribusiness, wine and food manufacture and retail
Her final tip to job seekers was to broaden their search to include job vacancy aggregating sites such as Indeed and Jora.
“Don’t just stick to Seek,” she said.
Across the country the number of people out of work almost doubled from 237,000 to 465,000 people in August.
The number of Victorians looking for a job rose 67 per cent to 130,000 people.
NSW was the only state to record a larger increase in unemployment than Victoria.
There, the number of jobless people rose 88 per cent to 149,000 people in the year to August.
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