To suggest that there are no employable Australians and that you have to import workers is hard to believe. If the type of worker you are looking for is someone who will say “yes sir, no sir” then this may be the case. Just look at what happens in the US with Mexican labour. Over the last few generations Australians have taught their kids that they have choice and should do something that they love. Go back three or four generations and the message was “be thankful for any work you can get”. If the middle aged employer has the expectation that a young employee is going to have the same mental approach to their job that did did as kid, then they will be sadly disappointed, because we do not live in that world anymore. It is not the kids fault as it is us who taught them to expect the best. When the day gets long or the work seems tough then they can fold.
Jacko summed it up well with his experience. He made his apprentice part of his business and they work for a common goal. I currently employ a 65, 32, 19 and 15 year old and the only thing they seem to have in common is the fact they want work best when given responsibility. I sit right in the middle of this age gap and it is very interesting to watch the dynamic. The one consistent thing I am noticing is that we all work better when the focus is us working for the business and not working for me. I go out and crush cardboard while they sign for a delivery or I clean the dunny while they serve a customer. All of a sudden they are not working for me but working with me and the whole vibe changes. It becomes their choice to get involved in the business and this is what we have taught them to do.
Our kids have more skills than we had at their age and more potential to be great. We have also unfortunately set them up for disappointment should they fall short of the ideal that we have preached to them. It is our responsibility to include them and nurture them rather than to expect and be critical.
STM
