I CHALLENGE the editor to try applying for jobs using my resume, interrupted as it has been by years of part-time work due to my two children (
The Courier
, editorial, October 11).
I was out of work between December last year and June this year - I applied for nearly every job that was going from those I had experience in to things out of left field on the off chance I was successful.
Local employment agencies were no help and Centrelink themselves told me not to bother with the Job Network unless I was on Newstart as they wouldn't help me.
Very few employers will give someone with a disjointed employment history a chance. There are few casual and part-time jobs available that allow a parent to participate in the workforce and make enough money to live without drowning in living costs.
The move to push single parents off parenting payments and onto Newstart from the start of January 2013 is to be abhorred.
If the editor is so confident that there are jobs available that provide meaningful work to single parents coupled with understanding employers who won't mind the odd week or two off work because there is no one else to look after sick children.. then please name them.
Even those of us who have partners and young children are crying out for employers to become more flexible. Workplace flexibility shouldn't just be a privilege negotiated into an already generous salary package.
RACHEL FISH
Creswick