Still Looking!

---

It's now nearly three weeks since new year and I'm still banging my head against a solid brick wall. Everyone's back at work now but after speaking with various agencies it seems that in order to get aircraft work, I need to get security clearance. No problem I thought. However, it also seems that companies are unwilling to grant security clearance to people with working holiday visas. 'king brilliant. No work for me. I wouldn't mind so much, but all you hear on the news and in the papers is how Australia is desperately short of skilled people, and how kids these days refuse to take up apprenticeships. You'd have thought that they couldn't afford to be so fussy as to who they take on. Oh well, looks like fruit picking for me!

Gary started a job this week working for citibank. He wasn't too keen on labouring and fancied something different, and so he's flogging credit cards to joe public. Now personally, when I'm walking down the high street or through town in general, I DONT expect to be stopped on every street corner and asked for money/donations/or would I like a credit card/bunch of flowers/book on spiritual healing/join the possum protection league or something equally daft. In Sydney though, it seems that this happens everywhere you go. You can't walk out of the front door of the hostel without someone asking for a dollar or trying to flog you something. I put this down to the fact there are so many backpackers here, and the most number of jobs when you flick through the paper are in advertising/sales. Of course they promise the world (eg. earn $1000+ a week!) but being the cynic I am, I can't see how that is possible when most of the work is commission based.

So anyway, Gary started this job with citibank and he's spent the last few days at the airport with these guys. Each day he has amused me with stories about group bonding sessions, (where they clap each other on how many sales they've made that day!) the sales pitch they have to stick too, and the guy running the show (a certain 'Doctor' Paul) who has a degree in physics but by some twist of fate, ended up selling credit cards (and probably making more cash that way too). Anyway, fair play to Gaz, he says its fun, they get to watch sport on a big screen, and he's out there talking to people all day. As long as he cracks 3 sales a day his expenses are covered, and that can't be too hard can it?

As for me, well I suppose I ought to lighten up a bit on street sellers (as Gary pointed out they are only fellow backpackers trying to earn some coinage). A bit difficult though when there are 10 of 'em in between you and the store you want to get to, and you have to run the guantlet without getting stopped by one. So rather than sign myself up with 'Doctor' Paul's school of credit card sales, I'm gonna do some real man's work and get a labouring job (which probably means i'll be knackered after 2 days and dying for a sales job!)

Unfortunatley, Sydney being backpacker central, they've devised all sorts of ways of screwing you out of your hard earned beer money. One of which is having to have a piece of paper before you can undertake any sort of work, (oh no my friends, having previous experience and a work visa simply isn't enough!) For labouring work you need whats called a green card. This can be obtained only after completing a 6 hour course, and parting with $85. Also for this line of work you need a pair of steel capped boots, which you guessed it, don't come cheap over here. For other types of work there are other such obstacles. For bar work you need an RSA (responsible serving of alcohol) certificate ($85), to work in a cafe you need to do a day course on coffee (would you believe!) to work at a casino or pub where slot machines are invloved you need an RCG (Responsible Conduct of Gambling). Christ, even if you want to be a lolly pop man you need to do a course on directing traffic, then the green card, AND get the steel capped boots! And I thought the UK was a nanny state...

So after parting with 85 bucks, I've booked my green card course and I'm due to be utterly bored stupid from 9.15 tomorrow morning. Wish me luck!

---