TRAPS

Approximately 60,000 young Victorians will leave school for good at the end of each year. More than half of them will be looking for their firstfull time job. Most of the rest will be looking for part-time work to help them pay their way through tertiary studies.  Unfortunately the first experiences which many of these young people have in the "real" world of work will not be happy ones. They will be caught by unscrupulous operators who trade on the vulnerability of young people who are desperate to get work but ignorant of their industrial right and of the traps which await them.

Job watch deals with thousands of these cases each year. Many fall victim to door to door sales firms who sign up enthusiastic young "trainee managers" or "promotional staff" by offering positions with their "international company" for those looking for "opportunities for promotion" and "travel". Rather than finding themselves at the beginning of a real career many discover that they have become cold canvassers for encyclopedia selling companies, walking the streets of strange town until late at night, and, worst of all, finding that they are paid nothing for their labours. Some will find that a few days after applying for a part-time job they have become the customers of a saucepan selling outfit who sign up young people on credit agreements to the tune of $3000 for a set of pots and pans and some Japanese glassware. Despite promises of sales leads and a substantial income at their initial interview, the company is not really interested in them after they have signed up to buy the goods. Instead of having a job they will have a debt of a few thousand dollars around their neck.

Some will get caught out by offers of "trial work". Having responded to an advertisement for a position they will be told that they are going to be put on for a "two week trial".

At the end of the two weeks they will be told that they aren’t quite what the employer is looking for and that, as the position was only a "trial" they will not be receiving any wages. The "employer" of course, will by then have placed another advertisement for the position and the process will be repeated.

It costs far less to advertise a position than it does to pay wages. This practice is illegal but cases come to our attention every year.

Hundreds of others will pay out thousands of dollars each, and waste months of their time, doing private training courses which are not recognised by the government or employers. After putting up with inadequate training, unqualified teachers, obsolete equipment and false promises about course content, they will find that their "certificates" and "diplomas" aren’t worth the paper they are printed on.

If you don’t want to become part of the Job Watch statistics this Christmas take heed of the following tips:

SIX DO’s

1. do look for a job which is covered by an award and join a union. ring up the department of labour or its equivalent in your state, or the relevant union, and find out what the award rate of pay is for any job that you are offered.
2. Do talk to family and friends about any job which you may be offered and take notice of the advice they give.
3. Do ask as many questions as you can at the interview about the work you will be doing, the nature of your employment (full time, part time, casual), and the award under which it is covered. A legitimate employer won’t mind you asking. A scan operator will try to avoid the questions by changing the subject, getting aggressive or making vague statements and promises.
4. Do look for Government recognised and operated training courses through TAFE Colleges.
5. Do seek advice early if you run into a problem. Thousands of people get trapped every year by the professional con artists who operate these scams.
6. Do call Job Watch if you have doubts about a job that you apply for.

SIX DON’TS

1. Don’t sign anything (employment or training contract, etc.) without having it looked over by a solicitor, community legal service, Job Watch or other qualified person.
2. Don’t outlay money for a job. If the first part of the transaction involves you giving the "employer" money, there is a very high chance that some sort of scam is involved.
3. Don’t apply for jobs which you see advertised in the paper every day or every week. they are almost always placed by direct selling companies and other operators who rely on a very high turnover of staff employed at very low or no pay or by companies who want to sell you a product.
4. Don’t be swayed by ads that sound too good to be true, but don’t tell you much (e.g. "earn up to $1000 a week, no experience needed" usually really means "earn $20 a week and don’t bother applying if you know too much to be easily conned")
5. Don’t take up "trial work" without making sure that you will be paid for your time.
6. Don’t take up a private training course unless you have checked it out thoroughly with employers, Consumer Affairs, the Vocational Orientation Centre and Job Watch.

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