Gold Coast man jobless after 426 attempts

MALCOLM Holt is the face of an unemployment crisis that is affecting the Gold Coast’s most experienced workers. Despite decades working in senior management roles, the 55-year-old has been rejected after applying for 426 jobs across the nation in 14 months — all since relocating to Surfers Paradise.

Mr Holt is so desperate for work he said he was willing to sweep gutters or work in traffic control in order to pay his way. “I’ve applied for jobs in the Bowen Basin, searched mines in Western Australia, applied for truck-driving jobs and even did traffic controller courses,” he said. “Once people see my resume, nobody is going to give me a job as a storeman or packer. “They think I’m far too qualified and experienced. “They don’t realise I just want to work and get my pride back.”

Mr Holt has lived off his superannuation and Centrelink benefits since he was made redundant from his last job in May 2009. Last week, Mr Holt exhausted his credit card when he bought an $1800 advertising package aimed at selling his skills on local radio station Hot Tomato. “I would stand on the M1 with a sandwich board if I thought it would help,” he said.

The city’s unemployment rate was at 6.1 per cent in October, up from 5.4 per cent the year before. Recruitment and demography experts yesterday said the employment crisis was affecting workers across the board.

THG head of economic, strategy and research, Richard Katter, said declines in tourism, construction and foreign investment had contributed to the Coast’s slow recovery from the global financial crisis. “A lot of people are suggesting the GFC is over, but while the economy is supposed to be recovering, unemployment has actually increased on the Gold Coast,” he said. Mr Katter said while unemployment was comparatively low in Australia, productivity per worker was quite low, which he believed stems largely from the trend of employing younger staff. “Rightly or wrongly, they may not employ someone who would have only a short-lived career, rather than someone young they can mould and retain for an extended period of time,” Mr Katter said. “Moving forward, with the ageing population, it’s an increasingly concerning and relevant issue.”

Source: The Courier mail

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