Will Parker didn't know what he wanted to do when he finished school.
"I had absolutely no idea. Not even a slightest clue," the 19-year-old says.
His job title is now "food service worker", but Will's also got another role: saving the Australian economy.
Double the problem
Even as unemployment hovers near record lows, the youth unemployment rate is close to double the rate of the general population.
That's pretty normal, says Jeff Borland, professor of economics at the University of Melbourne.
Young people are often in a transition from education to employment. And it's not always smooth.
"Yes, a lot of people are lucky enough to move straight into a job, but a lot of people are going to move from education into that state of looking for work," he says.
"The other reason is young people tend to lose jobs — be dismissed or quit jobs — more frequently than the older population.
"And so that means there's more of them in that pool of people who are unemployed at any point in time."
The current low unemployment rate is helping to make society more equal, he says, because it's getting more people into work who have previously struggled to find jobs.
People who are unemployed consist of groups with what Professor Boland calls "different levels of barriers to getting into work".
"The stronger the labour market is, the more you're going to shift towards employers being willing to give people an opportunity — who, if the unemployment rate was higher — they wouldn't otherwise get," he says.
That's what happening now. And it could reverberate — in good ways — for years.
Goodbye workers
But first we have to talk about COVID.
The shocking events at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020 might be receding in people's memories but the impact of them is still being felt.
In April 2020 the government urged international students and "visitor" visa holders to go home, with then prime minister Scott Morrison stating there would be no support for them.
"As much as it's lovely to have visitors to Australia in good times, at times like this, if you are a visitor in this country, it is time … to make your way home," he said.
The exodus of about 500,000 people happened quickly. A historic slump in our population that altered the long-held trajectory of the nation.
While migrants are quickly returning, we don't have enough workers to fill the jobs required now.
In September last year, for the first time since the labour markets were deregulated in the 1980s, there were more job vacancies than unemployed people.
Businesses desperately needed workers.
Previously they could rely on a deep pool of people available to start immediately.
Now they're having to work a little harder, taking on staff who may need a bit more help to get started.
Forgotten workforce
Will works serving meals at an aged care home run by Australian Unity in Mornington, an outer suburb of Melbourne.
"I make the breakfast, then during lunch and dinner the kitchen will give me some trays which I then take up, keep them heated and then dish them out during lunch and dinner," he says.
He finds the work social and interesting because it involves talking to residents.
But there's a serious edge. Food safety is a big issue and meals given to nursing home residents need to be served at certain temperatures.
"I have to get it right otherwise people get sick and bad things happen," he says.
That element of the job — and the paperwork involved with it — is something Will initially struggled with.
"The people at Unity are very understanding and very helpful," he says.
"They knew that this is my first proper job so they were helping me out as much as they can.
"They appreciate me and it helped me out a lot."
A little help
Will wasn't just getting help from his new colleagues, he has been assisted into the job through social justice organisation the Brotherhood of St Laurence (BSL).
Bek Willmott, the Brotherhood's youth programs manager, says the organisation helps young people prepare for work in many ways.
For some, the "soft skills" they need have been lost in the education system, while others may need a bit of extra study to prepare for a certain workplace, or something as elementary as a tax file number or bank account.
"Some of the young people we work with are the first person in their family to take up paid employment," she says, meaning there can be informal conventions about work to learn.
Often discussions are around how to talk to colleagues and customers, or what a particular workplace looks and feels like.
"No-one is there ringing a bell telling you to come indoors at the end of a recess or lunch break. If you're working outdoors, what does it look like to take your lunch on site?" she says.
"It's really thinking about what they need, making sure they've got all of the skills required to undertake the job."
Enticing the next generation
Some companies aren't waiting around to fill their looming vacancies. Construction firm Kapitol Group is going to schools to get students to consider entering the field when they finish their education.
"We want to get construction on their radar," says Alice Hanna, the company's people and culture manager.
When the ABC visited a near-completed data centre in Melbourne's north, a year 9 class from a girls' school on the other side of the city was finishing a tour.
"We're trying to help them understand the range of roles in the industry, the range of opportunities, the flexibility, the remuneration so they're at least thinking about construction when contemplating what next after school," Ms Hanna says.
In the fight for the next generation of talent, employers and industries will have to work harder to entice future staff, she says.
"Unfortunately, construction's not portrayed necessarily accurately in media in TV," she says.
"A lot of people see Bob the Builder and they think, 'I'll be hauling heavy things,' [that] they'll be working outside in the rain. And that's such a small part of what's such a rewarding, varied industry."
Getting people onsite helps shift those "unknowns", Ms Hanna adds.
Young people 'ready to work'
The unemployment rate lifted marginally to 3.7 per cent in January, according to figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The youth unemployment rate remained at 7.8 per cent.
That low unemployment rate may yet lift as the Reserve Bank raises interest rates to fight inflation, increasing mortgage costs as it attempts to dampen demand in the economy.
Professor Borland hopes the unemployment rate remains low.
"Because young people benefit the most," he says.
"It's often described as sort of the 'rising tide lifts all boats'.
"But it especially lifts the boats who we worry about for economic inclusion: young people, people with disabilities, people in regions where employment rates are lower, people with less education."
The brotherhood's Ms Willmott has challenged employers to make a "better investment" in workers, particularly now they're harder to find.
"Yes, they might be entering their very first role and they might need a little bit more support around what does it look like to work in, say, a kitchen," she says.
"But I promise you, they're here and they're ready to work."
'They just need a break'
Mark Nourallah is Will's boss. He's the chef manager at the facility, running 25 staff to feed about 110 residents at the seven-day-a-week operation.
The COVID-19 exodus hit the hospitality sector particularly hard, leading to huge staff shortages. Without a deep pool of applicants, Mark had to search a bit harder.
"Skills can definitely be taught," he says.
"You find the right person that fits in within the team – that's vital. Everything else can be learned."
For staff like Will who are in their first job, Mr Nourallah is passing on those hard-won skills as well as educating them about the world of work.
"I think the probably the biggest result is the loyalty," Mr Nourallah says.
"People you invest time in and have patience with will reward you with longer service.
"I know they'll go the extra mile, they'll pick up the extra shift when needed, and they'll do it happily because they enjoy where they work.
"It's worth it. I think it's worth going the extra yard, taking the time to invest in someone that, you know, maybe a few years ago you wouldn't have looked at but they just need a break."
