subject: Does Gina Reinhart Have A Point - Do Opportunities For Australians To Get Ahead Exist, We Just Need [print this page] The media is buzzing about Gina Reinharts comments in her column in the current edition of the Australian Resources and Investment magazine. In her article Ms. Reinhart states that the minimum wage in Australia should be lowered, and whilst I dont agree with that, she also makes the observation that if people are not happy with their current situation they should be proactive and do something about it.
If you're jealous of those with more money, don't just sit there and complain. Do something to make more money yourself - spend less time drinking or smoking and socialising, and more time working
I empathise with this position.
Take the field of ICT as an example, the Australian Governments Department of Education Employment and Workplace Relations August 2012 Vacancy Report states that there were 10,584 vacancies in the ICT profession in Australia in July. Thats over 10,000 jobs that are going begging!
Jobs in ICT also pay well. According to MyCareers Salary Centre, the average wage for someone working in ICT in Australia is over $100,000 (http://content.mycareer.com.au/salary-centre/it-telecommunications/-/australia).
So why arent more people moving into ICT? Is Gina Reinhart right? Is it perceived to be just too difficult?
Its actually not that hard to move into the ICT field, for example, Course You Can (www.courseyoucan.com.au) is currently advertising an Internship in IT in Melbourne. Start studying your Diploma of IT and after 3 months you will/may/can? get a job with a starting salary of $50,000 and then finish your studies part time whilst working in the industry. This is a very direct way of getting into the profession and you dont even need any pre-requisite experience or qualification. It is open to everyone.
The future outlook for ICT professionals is also looking good, with projects like the NBN rolling creating even more need for ICT professionals over the next decade.
I am sure that this is not the only opportunity or the only profession that is looking for new staff, but the big question is - what are we waiting for?
