While the Riverina’s official unemployment figures were better than any other region in the country, the data is skewed by workers who can’t work to their full capacity.

Too young to retire and too old to do hard physical labour, the more enterprising under-employed are trying to retrain so they can keep working.

Pauline Morgan started an accounting diploma when she was 18, but gave it away and didn’t enter the workforce until after her children were older. She got casual work at Woolworths and managed to get a lot of experience over the years, but her goal of getting into administration remained out of reach.

“It was hard to get anywhere,” Mrs Morgan said. “I did manage to get an interview at Service NSW, but I was up against everyone applying for their own jobs. 

“A lot of employers want you to have the piece of paper and the experience that goes along with it.”

A report released last month by PwC showed Australian companies needed to adopt aged worker-friendly policies in order to survive and attract the best talent.

The Golden Age Index report found full-time earnings of 55-64 year-olds relative to 25-54 year-olds Australia was in the lowest third of OECD countries.

Unwilling to be beaten, Mrs Morgan went to TAFE, completed a Certificate III in finance and then started her own business called Mind Your Admin.

“The only way to get experience was to get my own experience,” Mrs Morgan said. 

“I wanted to be in admin and not just on the checkout for the rest of my life. 

“I think an increasing number of older people are making their own jobs if they can’t get their foot in the door.”

TAFE teacher Matthew Nixon said he saw a number of mature-aged students in his courses.

“They're finding it tough to get work in Wagga,” Mr Nixon said.

“It's tough out there, some employers prefer younger people with a cheaper hourly rate, but these workers have all that existing knowledge they can bring.”

Mr Nixon said he often speaks to mature students about how they can move into new jobs.