THERE are hundreds of young people in the Riverina with stories to tell like Jacob O’Hare’s.
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The 19-year-old has been hunting for a job since Christmas and estimates he’s applied for over 60 positions – generating just two interviews where he was told he lacked the experience for the position.
Youth unemployment in the Riverina has hovered at around 12 per cent for the past year and is almost three times the region’s general unemployment rate.
Frustrating for Mr O’Hare is the lack of support he said he was receiving at finding a job.
He refuses to claim Centrelink benefits he is entitled to as a job seeker out of a matter of principle – labelling the payments as a “last resort” option – but that has led to job agencies refusing to help him as a result, he said.
“Unless you are on a benefit such as jobseekers, they cannot help you,” he said.
“I sort of felt discriminated against – I find it completely and utterly unfair.”
Mr O’Hare doesn’t believe the welfare system should be used as a safety net for job seekers like himself, unless the situation becomes so dire that there remains no other option.
“I just don’t deem it as fair on the workers who have to work and pay tax for someone like me who is trying to get a job,” he said.
“It’s fair enough for other people if you need to be on social welfare for different reasons, but I’m just against job seekers and things like that (claiming welfare).”
Member for Riverina Michael McCormack commended Mr O’Hare’s stance but said Centrelink was there as a “safety net” for people in his position.
Mr McCormack acknowledged more needed to be done to address the region’s high youth unemployment rate.
“12 per cent is still too high but I would encourage young people who can’t find work to keep persevering,” he said.
Hoping to crack the IT industry, Mr O’Hare went to TAFE Riverina Institute to complete a Certificate III in IT and a course in bridging new technologies.
But those qualifications have seemingly counted for little in his quest to find a job and he’s now looking for work in other fields.
Mr O’Hare insists despite the setbacks, he hasn’t been discouraged in his quest to find employment.
“You’ve just got to keep on these things, you can’t give up,” he said.