Norlane man shares his journey of re-entering the workforce after four years unemployed

Norlane man Luke knows the path that can lead to long-term unemployment and the barriers to re-entering the workforce. He shares his story as unemployment in Geelong rises.

Luke Hinsley was long-term unemployed from 2018 to 2022, but is now full time studying a Bachelor of Arts and looking forward to re-entering the workforce. Picture: Brad Fleet

The average duration of job searching in Geelong is eight and a half months as unemployment rates rise and key figures call for more support for vulnerable people.

Thousands more people were unemployed in Geelong in July than a year prior.

For people who have been searching for less than a year the average job search takes 14.8 weeks, but if they have been searching for more than 12 months the average is 112 weeks, recent figures show.

Luke Hinsley has overcome many challenges in his journey to re-enter the workforce after being unemployed for nearly four years.

The Norlane man was running a loading dock at a department store in 2018 when poor mental and physical health caused him to stop working.

He said his health was a barrier for re-entering the workforce, as was the need to transition to a new industry.

”My previous work had a lot of heavy lifting and left me with a minor spinal injury so I had to transition to a more office environment job,” he said.

”It was a struggle, not just financially, you feel like you’re not contributing to society and people don’t really look kindly on people who are unemployed.”

Mr Hinsley, 40, said ironically Covid lockdowns helped him.

“The government subsidy suspended mutual obligations so I had enough money to live on — I wasn’t being harassed to look for work and that gave me the time to work on my mental health,” he said.

Mr Hinsley said he started applying for jobs in 2022 and was referred to Northern Futures, where he completed a business essentials course.

“Northern Futures helped with not only learning office tasks but also my confidence,” he said.

“I worked with the Barwon Health Foundation in a temporary part-time job that was only supposed to last for three months but it went for nine months.

“I recently completed an associate degree and now I am doing a Bachelor of Arts studying politics, policies and international relations.

”I’m hoping to work in government in the future and I’m looking forward to getting back to work.”

Northern Futures chief executive Andrew Palmer says long-term unemployment rates are slowly increasing in parts of Geelong. Picture: Alison Wynd

Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data showed in July 2024 there were 8400 people in Geelong unemployed, an increase from 5800 in July last year.

Employment and unemployment to population ratios both increased in that time as the total labour force also increased by more than 20,000 people.

Unemployment has risen from 3.2 to 4.3 per cent, while employment has risen from 60.1 to 63.9 per cent.

ABS head of labour statistics Kate Lamb said nationally the unemployment rate rose to 4.2 per cent in July.

“Although the unemployment rate increased by 0.1 percentage point in each of the past two months, the record high participation rate and near record high employment-to-population ratio shows that there continues to be a high number of people in jobs, and looking for and finding jobs,” she said.

The ABS data revealed 131,300 people have been unemployed in Australia for 52 weeks or more.

It is the highest number of people long-term unemployed since June 2022, and a significant increase from 107,600 at the same time last year.

Northern Futures chief executive Andrew Palmer said the rates and trends of long-term unemployment in Geelong were not “one size fits all” across the region, but slowly increasing.

He said long-term unemployment causes and impacts were different in different areas.

Mr Palmer said disability or long-term health conditions could impact accessibility to the workforce.

“Even well-intentioned employers might not be able to see how it would work so the result of that is they have a bias or don’t consider a disabled applicant could do the job,” he said.

“If you don’t get work experience or a job by the time you are 25 you are more likely to end up in long term unemployment and there does tend to be a bias so if you are older and lose your job you are less likely to get a job.”

Mr Palmer said the transition from major manufacturing into the health and services industries and poor transport links to parts of the region contributed to rates of long term unemployment.

He said consequences of long-term unemployment could be poorer mental and physical health, decreased social connection and involvement in crime.

“They all add up and make it very hard for someone to break out and break away from that.”

Mr Palmer said Northern Futures helped people in northern suburbs to build resilience, reconnect socially and complete training.

He said local community centres and Neighbourhood Houses were also good places to seek assistance.

G21 Geelong Regional Alliance chief executive Giulia Baggio says invest in mentoring and workplace programs in Geelong is needed to support people facing barriers to employment. Picture: Mark Wilson

G21 Geelong Regional Alliance chief executive Giulia Baggio said major employers in the region needed to invest in mentoring and workplace programs to keep the doors open for people facing serious barriers to employment.

“We know meaningful employment and social connection play an important part in maintaining good mental health and overall wellbeing,” she said.

“Supporting vulnerable people to become part of the workforce is a vital part of turning around some of the public health challenges faced in our communities.”

Originally published as Norlane man shares his journey of re-entering the workforce after four years unemployed