Spotless boss Bruce Dixon says kids that work at Maccas end up in top jobs

IT was summers labouring for his father’s plumbing business as a university student that steeled Spotless boss Bruce Dixon for later life in the workforce.

Trying to stop growing youth unemployment ... Generation Success, an initiative by Woolworths and News Corp Australia and backed by other major businesses.

SELLING hot pies and cold drinks at footy grounds on a winter’s day is a regular starting point in the workforce for hundreds of kids every year.

But young workers need to remember that it takes years to find the ideal job and not to get too discouraged as they often end up in roles that do not meet their expectations and dreams, Spotless boss Bruce Dixon said.

Identifying those better younger staff to develop opportunities and move up is a major goal within Spotless — a billion dollar Australian-owned, managed and operated company that provides services ranging from laundry facilities at mining camps to champagne in corporate boxes at the Grand Prix.

The group has 33,000 employees and a focus on talent identification is crucial and as the boss of the multi-million sports and entertainment business unit took his first steps on the employment ladder at the MCG — it can clearly work.

Mr Dixon is upbeat about the outlook for the catering and services firm with up to $3 billion of government and resources sector contracts to be reviewed this year.

The company is also believed to be looking at the possibility of a $1bn-plus sharemarket listing.

But Mr Dixon was tight-lipped about any IPO as the final decision will rest with the company’s private-equity owners, Pacific Equity Partners.

Mr Dixon was full of praise for Spotless’ almost 10,000 staff aged between 16-24 years ranging from apprentice chefs to waste disposal workers.

It was summers labouring for his father’s plumbing business as he went through university that steeled him for later life in the workforce, he said.

“If you have the drive you will get there. The kids that work at Maccas going through school and university will often end up in top jobs,’’ Mr Dixon said.

News_Image_File: Spotless CEO Bruce Dixon at the company’s headquarters in Melbourne.

“This means they will be much more prepared for the real world when they start work. Life experience is a key that employers are looking for in new staff. It is these ones that star over the years.”

After finishing an economics degree, Mr Dixon’s first foray into the workplace was as a HR manager at a country hospital.

He said the biggest difference in those 30-odd years is the level of entitlement among many young workers that has built up through exposure to the world through television and the media.

“It is easy to tell the motivated ones within weeks and they will almost always get there even if that ends up being in completely different areas,” he said.

“But too many staff come in expecting to run the company strategy on day one instead of learning the ropes.

“The philosophical difference to my day is that people need to understand their first job in their career will not be what they end up doing forever. It is just a start that gets you going. Most people will have seven or eight jobs in their lifetime. Too many people want it now rather than being willing to grind it out.”

Spotless employs almost 2000 trainees through our National Vocational Training Program.

But Mr Dixon said more training programs are not the answer but more practical work experience is what employers want to see.

“A subsidy from government to cover some of the wages of young workers would be much better than more training,” he said.

Lifting the lid on youth unemployment is the key driver behind Generation Success ahead of a summit with Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Youth unemployment jumped to 12.4 per cent in the year to January with some regional and outer suburban areas registering levels of almost 20 per cent.

“There are major structural problems in terms of pay ... with too many young people looking for quick financial return rather than a long-term career,” Mr Dixon says.

Fixing this structural pay gap is regarded by many in the corporate sector as instrumental in paving the way for companies to be able to offer more jobs to young people.

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***News Corp Australia and Woolworths Limited have joined forces to launch Generation Success, an initiative to focus on youth employment. The unemployment rate among those aged 15 to 24 is now 12.4 per cent — more than double the overall national rate. Gen S brings some of the country’s biggest employers together to tackle the issue. Woolworths, Leighton Holdings, National Australia Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Toll Group, Spotless, and Telstra, together employ more than 430,000 Australians. As part of the initiative, industry, government and youth sector leaders will come together in April for a youth employment roundtable discussion.