Australia and New Zealand’s leading temporary and casual staffing platform, Sidekicker has experienced an uptick in demand, with weekly worker sign-ups hitting an all-time high in recent months.
With unemployment hitting a record low of 3.4% in July this year, worker shortages continue to plague employers. The war on talent is resulting in tough competition to secure staff, with Sidekicker’s clients increasingly offering its 20,000+ workers (known as Sidekicks) rates more than 5% above the minimum wage, on average.
In particular, the hospitality and healthcare sectors have increased their casual rates significantly, rising between 15% and 25% and up to and beyond 30% for certain roles compared to six months ago. Over the past year, Sidekicker has seen the highest growth in demand for casual work for those under 25 and over 55.
Sidekicker CEO, Thomas Amos said that there’s unprecedented opportunity for people to make extra cash through casual and temporary work.
“Many businesses are continuing to experience huge demand for staff; not just the hospitality industry, but the healthcare sector and businesses looking for remote admin support. There are a lot of reasons people might choose to pick up extra work, whether they’re uni students looking for flexible work hours, business owners needing an extra income stream, or parents who just want to pick up shifts when it suits them,” Amos said.
“Our workers have a significantly better experience finding work via our app than approaching businesses directly. They can pick and choose the jobs they like, they can work across multiple industries different days of the week, and can choose to work as often or as little as they’d like. Our platform makes it easier, faster and more cost effective for businesses to hire skilled staff when they need them, while also giving workers more control over when and where they work, and how much they earn.”
Sidekicker has revealed a list of its most in demand roles, including how much workers on the platform can earn and what skills are needed:
Hospitality
In the hospitality industry, lower skilled jobs like F&B attendant and bartender can earn up to $40 an hour, while chefs can earn up to $50 an hour filling casual shifts.
F&B Attendant
● Earnings: Up to $40 per hour
● Average shift length: 6.5 hours
● Skills required: basic customer service and 3 plate carry, RSA certification required
Bartender
● Earnings: Up to $40 per hour
● Average shift length: average shift length 6.5 hours
● Skills required: Basic customer service and tap pour and beverage knowledge, RSA cert required
Chef
● Earnings: Up to $50 per hour
● Average shift length: 7.5 hours
● Skills required: Experience in commercial kitchen, certification required Certificate iii or iv in Commercial Cookery
Aged Care
For experienced nurses with the right qualifications, there are aged care facilities currently looking for staff and willing to pay well above award wages.
Assistant in Nursing (AIN) / Personal Care Assistant (PCA)
● Earnings: Up to $59 per hour, 34-68/hour standard
● Length of shifts: Generally 4,6 or 8 hours
● Skills required for the role: Six months experience as a full-time AIN/PCA, manual handling experience, Police Check, Covid Vaccinations + Booster, Flu Shot, Hand Hygiene, Education Degree
Warehousing
Due to safety requirements, anyone wanting to join Sidekicker’s platform for warehousing and logistics roles, must have prior experience in a warehouse environment.
General assistants & Pick Packers
● Earnings: Up to $36 per hour
● Average length of shifts: usually 8 hours
● Skills required for role: Previous experience working in a warehouse environment preferred
Forklift Drivers
● Earnings: Up to $40 per hour
● Average length of shifts: usually 8 hours
● Skills required for role: LF license, Previous experience working in a warehouse environment
White Collar
For anyone with basic computer skills, there are admin support roles for a range of businesses. As a bonus, most of this work can be done remotely.
Admin support
● Earnings: Up to $32 per hour
● Average length of shifts: usually 7 hours
● Skills required for role: Basic computer skills