Entry level jobs – opportunities and barriers
June 2015
Many young people gain their first job in Retail Trade,
Accommodation and Food Services and Construction. These three
industries, together, employ around half of all young workers (those
aged 15 to 24 years).1
Executive summary
The Department spoke with
around 1200 employers who
were recruiting for
To understand the opportunities and barriers for young people who
do not have work experience, the Department of Employment has
undertaken research into six entry level occupations, within these
industries.
 Bar and beverage
attendants
 Café workers
 Labourers
Key findings
 Receptionists
88% of surveyed vacancies were filled
43 applicants for each position
7 suitable applicants per vacancy
 Sales assistants
 Waiters
Few employers will hire
inexperienced workers.

Entry level positions are
easily filled and competition
from job seekers is strong.

Inexperienced job seekers
face competition from
experienced job seekers and
have limited opportunities
in these occupations.

Employers don’t generally
require applicants for these
occupations to have
vocational qualifications or
extensive training.

ISBN: 978-1-76028-608-8
To be competitive, though,
applicants may need tickets
or licences relevant to the
occupation (such as an RSA
or Construction White
Card).

1
There are generally large numbers of applicants for these
positions. One third of employers were continuously or often
approached by job seekers asking for work.
Lack of experience is a significant barrier. Only about 30% of jobs
in these occupations are open to applicants without experience
and, reflecting the strong competition for vacancies, some of
these are filled by experienced workers.
The vast majority of applicants are considered by employers to be
unsuitable (on average, there are around 36 unsuitable applicants
for each vacancy). Despite this, employers generally have the
choice of multiple suitable applicants.
A range of factors lead to employers regarding applicants as being
unsuitable. Some are hard to address, like lack of experience, but
candidates can work on many of the other factors (such as having
a well presented application and maximising their hours of
availability) to enhance their prospects.
Many employers (44%) had a positive view of young job seekers
without experience, indicating they would employ them, but in
practice they sought experienced applicants for their vacancies.
ABS Labour Force Survey, four quarter average to August 2015
Note: This report is the overall analysis of the Department of Employment’s research into entry level labour markets. Individual
occupation reports are at: www.employment.gov.au/entry-level-labour-markets.
Labour Market Research and Analysis Branch, Department of Employment
Page 1
Barriers
Opportunities







Lack of experience is a key barrier for young
people entering the labour market in these
occupations, with relatively few vacancies
being open to them.
There are large numbers of people looking
for work in the reception and hospitality
occupations. Employers for these
occupations are generally unwilling to recruit
workers who do not have specific experience
in these fields.
Inexperience is the key reason for rejecting
applicants, even if many of them have the
qualities and attributes required for the job.
Lack of training or certification is not a major
barrier to employment in these occupations,
with employers’ requirements generally
being for relatively easily obtained licences
or certificates.
Not having reliable transport or a driver’s
licence is often mentioned as a barrier. The
ability to obtain a driver’s licence may be
challenging for some young job seekers given
the time and cost involved.
Employers often assume that candidates
who have to travel a significant distance may
be unreliable or will not stay long enough to
make investing in training worthwhile.




 The ability to demonstrate many of the main
qualities and attributes employers seek in
their workers also presents difficulties for
many new job seekers. Even those
candidates with excellent soft skills, may
have difficulty getting past the shortlisting
stage due to their lack of experience.


Although there is strong applicant
competition, employers sometimes have
difficulty finding the workers they need.
Opportunities exist across a variety of
employment conditions, with permanent,
casual, full-time and part-time jobs offered in
these occupations.
Many employers have a positive view of
school leavers, with about 44% saying they
would consider hiring a school leaver or
school age applicant without experience.
Overall, around half of surveyed employers
were willing to take on someone with six
months or less experience.
The survey highlighted that there are some
relatively simple steps that job seekers can
take to enhance their competitiveness, such
as
o following instructions when applying
o having a well presented application
o demonstrating genuine interest
o indicating availability and being flexible
o ensuring email addresses and social
media content are appropriate
o reassuring the employer that they have
reliable transport
o tailoring their personal presentation to
the business
o highlighting their soft skills.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that by
applying early, applicants can enhance their
prospects.
o Some employers take on the first
applicant who meets their criteria.
Researching the business may help to show
interest. Around one third of employers
expected candidates to have researched
their business, with some commenting those
who do stand out.2
2
Due to changes to the survey, employers recruiting for
receptionists were not asked this question.
Department of Employment
Page 2
Recruitment outcomes

These vacancies are generally strongly contested by applicants and employers overall have little
difficulty recruiting (Figure 1).
o Employers usually have the choice of multiple suitable applicants. The few vacancies which
remained unfilled generally attracted applicants but they did not meet the employers’
expectations.
o Despite attracting multiple applicants, employers recruiting for labourers and waiters have
some difficulty finding workers who meet their skill and experience needs, and a higher
proportion of these vacancies were unfilled.
 A significant proportion of employers (21%) recruited applicants who exceeded their
expectations. The proportions were notably higher for receptionist (28%) and bar and beverage
attendant (26%) vacancies, but relatively low for labourer (12%) and waiter (15%) positions.
o Just 6% of employers said that they recruited people whose skills fell short of their
expectations.
 The results suggest that some job seekers may shun labourer jobs. There is less competition for
these positions than there is for hospitality, sales and reception work, with fewer candidates
(although there are generally multiple suitable applicants) and 20% of the surveyed vacancies
were unfilled.
 Just 18% of employers had not been approached by people seeking work in the past year. About
33% said they were continuously or often approached and 40% were occasionally or rarely
approached.
o Employers of bar and beverage attendants were the most likely to receive unsolicited job
applications, with almost half saying they are continuously or often approached.
Figure 1: Proportion of vacancies filled and applicant numbers, by occupation (ranked by
proportion of vacancies filled)
Average no. of unsuitable
applicants per vacancy (LHS)
140
Average no. of suitable
applicants per vacancy
(LHS)
% of vacancies filled (RHS)
100%
97%
93%
92%
89%
120
88%
90%
86%
80% 80%
100
70%
60%
80
no.
60
50%
91
40%
30%
66
40
20
27
21
0
Department of Employment
9
5
42
36
6
7
20%
21
4
14
5
Page 3
10%
0%
By location




The vast majority of vacancies were filled, regardless of location, although a slightly higher
proportion of metropolitan vacancies were filled than regional vacancies.
Regional employers were more positive about applicants, considering around 20% to be
suitable (compared with 15% of applicants for metropolitan vacancies).
There was no real difference between regional and metropolitan employers’ willingness to take
on a job seeker with no experience.
Applicant competition was lowest in the Northern Territory (with 10 applicants per vacancy of
whom 2 were regarded as suitable, on average) but there are few unfilled vacancies.
Figure 2: Proportion of vacancies filled and number of applicants and suitable applicants, by
location
Figure 2 shows a map of Australia that shows the percentage of vacancies filled and the average number of
suitable and unsuitable applicants per vacancy.
New South Wales, 86% of vacancies were filled, there were 25 applicants per vacancy on average and there were
5 suitable applicants per vacancy on average. Victoria, 91% filled, 47 applicants, 5 suitable. Queensland, 90%
filled, 66 applicants, 10 suitable. South Australia, 82% filled, 45 applicants, 8 suitable. Western Australia, 89%
filled, 54 applicants, 8 suitable. Tasmania, 93% filled, 24 applicants, 7 suitable. Northern Territory, 91% filled, 10
applicants, 2 suitable. Australian Capital Territory, 85% filled, 45 applicants, 11 suitable.
90% of metropolitan vacancies were filled, compared with 84% in regional areas. Metropolitan vacancies also
attracted significantly larger numbers of applicants (48 applicants per vacancy compared with 28). Despite this,
metropolitan and regional employers both considered a similar number of applicants to be suitable (7 and 6
respectively).
Experience requirements




Almost 30% of vacancies were open to workers who did not have previous employment
experience.
o Notably, though, 26% of these employers stated that they considered applicants for the
surveyed vacancy to be unsuitable due to lack of experience. While this seems at odds with
their willingness to take on inexperienced applicants, it is likely to reflect these applicants
being uncompetitive in the selection process against more experienced candidates.
o Very few vacancies for hospitality workers were open to people who did not have
experience (just 16% of bar and beverage attendant vacancies, 22% of waiter vacancies and
27% of café worker vacancies).
A further 22% of employers would hire someone with little experience (six months or less).
Almost all employers who sought experienced workers were seeking people who had worked in
the same industry or occupation as the advertised vacancy.
While 44% of employers stated that they would consider recruiting a recent school leaver or
school-age applicant who did not have the required experience, in practice, most surveyed
employers were seeking experienced workers.
Department of Employment
Page 4

Employers are most open to hiring inexperienced applicants for labourer and sales assistant
vacancies.
o The occupation least open to inexperienced school leavers is bar and beverage attendants
(reflecting, in part, the age requirement for this work). 3
o While a high proportion of employers recruiting for waiters said they would consider hiring
school leavers without experience (52%), very few of these vacancies (22%, the second
lowest share of all assessed occupations) were actually open to applicants who did not have
experience.
 Employers recruiting for hospitality occupations were also more prescriptive in terms of the
type of previous experience they required (Figure 3).
o Around 81% of employers seeking bar and beverage attendants specifically wanted workers
who had bar and beverage experience, 72% of those recruiting waiters required previous
waiting experience and 65% of café worker employers required applicants who had
previously worked in a café.
o By comparison, just 49% of employers seeking labourers and 51% of those recruiting
receptionists required applicants with specific experience in these roles.
Figure 3: Proportion of employers seeking workers with experience related to the advertised
position (%)
3
To serve alcohol and be eligible for a RSA, employees must be at least 18 years of age.
Department of Employment
Page 5
Personal qualities or attributes sought

Around 45 different qualities and attributes were mentioned by surveyed employers as being
necessary for the advertised jobs. The most commonly noted requirements related to the
following broad groupings:
o qualities needed for effective customer service (50%)
o self-management and attitude (49%)
o reliability, responsibility and being punctual (28%)
o communication skills (26%)
o personal presentation (23%)
o teamwork (20%)
o interest, loyalty and commitment (10%).
Training, tickets and licences

Overall, around half the surveyed employers required applicants who held specific tickets,
certificates or licences. There was, however, marked variation across occupations. Almost all
employers recruiting for bar and beverage attendants sought applicants who already held an
RSA, but very few required sales assistants to have any tickets, certificates or licences.
 Employers, though, generally had a limited range of requirements and these were mostly for
short course tickets and licences, rather than longer formal vocational training.
o The most commonly mentioned tickets or licences were a RSA and RSG (largely for bar and
beverage attendants and waiters), a Construction White Card and a driver’s licence (both
mainly for labourer positions).
o Just 2% of employers required a vocational qualification.
o Sales assistant (just 9% of employers required workers with training or tickets, certificates,
and licences) and receptionist (13%) vacancies were the least likely to have training or
accreditation requirements.
 While almost all employers provided training for new starters, it was largely limited to
on-the-job training and inductions.
Employers’ perceptions of school leavers

Although around 47% of surveyed employers were unwilling to employ school leavers who did
not have the required experience, 44% noted that they would recruit school leavers (and
another 4% indicated that they would if the applicant was 18 years of age or older; this was
particularly the case for bar and beverage positions).
o Sales assistant vacancies were the most open to employing inexperienced school leavers
(55% said they would). Most employers wanting to fill receptionist positions, however, were
reluctant to recruit school leavers without the required experience, with only 39%
commenting that they were open to this prospect.
 In practice, the survey suggests that due to the competitive nature of the labour market,
experienced workers are more readily employed.
Department of Employment
Page 6
Reasons for unsuitability


Lack of experience was clearly the main reason applicants were considered to be unsuitable,
but inadequate availability for work hours (mentioned by 20% of employers) and poor
presentation (10%) are also key factors. Other common reasons are summarised in Figure 4.
Some of these present barriers for young job seekers (such as lack of experience) but there is an
opportunity for young people to boost their prospects by working on other attributes.
Figure 4: Most common reasons for applicants being considered unsuitable (% of employers
mentioning, multiple responses allowed)
Lack of experience - 45 per cent
Availability - 20 per cent
Personal presentation - 10 per cent
Personality or 'fit' for the business - 10 per cent
Communication skills - 9 per cent
Lived too far away - 9 per cent of employers this as a reason for being considered unsuitable
A small number of employers commented about specific issues in relation to candidate presentation. Some
rejected applicants who had tattoos, piercings and strong hair colour (these were the most commonly
mentioned) while others accepted applicants with piercings as long as they were tidy or tattoos that were not
offensive. Untidy, rumpled appearance or poor hygiene were also commonly mentioned .

Employers were asked if they expected candidates to have researched their business. Slightly
more than one third stated that they did and a further 10% considered it to be advantageous to
the candidate.4
What training is offered to new starters?

About 80% of employers indicated that they offered on-the-job or in-house training. Just 4% of
all employers said that they did not offer any training, but the proportion was notably higher
(13%) for those recruiting for labourers.
 Training varied markedly by occupation, but covered
o Inductions or orientations (18%)
o Fire, safety, first aid and Occupational Health and Safety (5%)
o Buddy system or mentoring (4%)
o Online training (1%).
4
Due to changes to the survey, employers recruiting for receptionists were not asked this question.
Department of Employment
Page 7
Methods of recruitment

The most commonly mentioned methods of recruitment were using major online recruitment
websites (70%), other websites5 (31%) and newspapers (19%), followed by word of mouth
(13%).
Figure 5: Top four methods of recruitment used (% of employers mentioning, multiple
responses allowed)
Major online recruitment websites - 70 per cent of employers mentioned using this method
Other websites - 31 per cent
Newspapers - 19 per cent
Word of mouth - 13 per cent
More than half of the surveyed employers (53%) used multiple methods of recruitment. Almost all receptionist
and sales assistant positions were placed on major online recruitment websites. Advertisements for café workers
were much more likely to be advertised on smaller websites compared with the average across all the assessed
occupations




While the major online recruitment websites were clearly the most common method of
advertising, it is important to note that slightly less than one out of every three surveyed
employers did not advertise on these sites. This highlights the importance of job seekers
searching for job advertisements across a range of mediums.
Most employers (87%) used standard staff selection practices, that is, some combination or
variation of shortlisting and interviewing. Around 40% of employers conducted a work trial or
used a probation period (some for a few hours, others for three weeks or longer).
Employers recruiting for labourers were significantly more likely to recruit using just a phone
interview, informal interview or chat (18%), compared with the average of 4%.
Small numbers of employers noted that they review social media sites, undertake drug and
alcohol tests, seek police checks or do group interviews.
Employment arrangements6


Most employers were seeking permanent employees (59%), while around 19% indicated they
were seeking to engage workers on a casual basis and a further 13% offered temporary or
contract employment.
Around 59% of vacancies were for full-time hours, with 18% being part-time and 16% being
positions with variable hours.
5
Includes free websites which offer a range of advertising services.
Data on the status of employment and hours of work have been taken from an audit of vacancies that was undertaken prior to the
survey. While employers were asked this question in the survey, many were confused about the terminology relating to the nature
of the hours and status of vacancies.
6
Department of Employment
Page 8
Table 1: Status of employment
Employment Status
% share
Permanent employee
59
Casual employee
19
Temporary or contract employee
13
Not stated or no response
9
Table 2: Hours of work
Weekly working hours
% share
Full-time hours
59
Part-time hours
18
Variable hours
16
Hours not stated or no response
6

Around 71% of the surveyed vacancies across these six occupations required work outside usual
business hours or at weekends (Figure 6).
 There was no identifiable relationship between the hours of work and the competition for
vacancies.
o Receptionist vacancies are the most keenly contested by job seekers and they are the least
likely to require work on weekends or after common office business hours, but labourers are
the next lowest ranked in these terms (they, however, have the least competitive labour
market).
Figure 6: Proportion of employers seeking candidates to work outside usual business hours or
on weekends, by occupation
100
97
80
%
60
40
97
85
81
71
46
23
20
0
Department of Employment
Page 9