Step 4. Essential job training

In Australia, health and safety laws require that workers in certain professions undergo compulsory basic training and become certified to be eligible for employment.

Mandatory training is required to work in bars, pubs, clubs as well as construction sites and this affects many working holidaymakers who are hoping to find work within these industries.

The good news is that the courses are usually completed within a day, are inexpensive and once completed you are then certified to work anywhere in Australia.

Hospitality / bar

With a social atmosphere, good pay and loads of tips to be made, bar work is a preferred job option for many travellers.

For those with a sense of adventure, bar work regularly becomes available in roadhouses, outback resorts and even mines, as well as bars, pubs, clubs and casinos across Australia.

However, it’s not always easy to land a job unless you can flip, shake, and stir like Tom Cruise in Cocktail, and even if you do have years of experience behind a bar you will still need to get certified.

It’s a legal requirement that all hospitality staff (bars, pubs, hotels, casinos, restaurants and even most cafés), hold certification known as an RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol) and RGS (Responsible Gambling Services) before being eligible for employment on licensed premises.

For those with little or no hospitality experience a pub skills training course may also be a worthwhile option, to gain the skills and experience you need to get the perfect job.

Trades / construction / labour

In addition to a fun working environment and great pay, Aussie tradies get to work outside in the sunshine, wear shorts and singlets, take ‘smokos’, handle dangerous power tools and knock off around 3pm to head to the beach. Not bad at all!

Australia’s construction industry (which includes carpenters and joiners, electricians, plumbers, builders, painters and decorators, concreters and bricklayers) employs over 845,000 people - and even more are needed.

With a labour shortage of skilled tradespeople, this a highly accessible industry for working holiday makers. The flexible and often short-term nature of the work is ideal and many trades are listed on the Australian Government’s Occupations in Demand list, making skilled migration or employer-sponsored migration very possible.

Work is available everywhere, in both metropolitan and regional areas. Around 40% of construction jobs are outside state capital cities, with the majority of work being in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.

And it’s not just a job for the boys. Many girls can find themselves well paid jobs on worksites or as road traffic controllers.

To work on a construction site in NSW it is a requirement that you hold an OH&S General Induction Certificate or Green / White Card as it’s commonly known. This can be obtained in a 1-day training course.

Be a road traffic controller

As a traveller in a foreign country, you have one of the best opportunities in your life to break away from the ‘norm’ and try something totally different, especially when it comes to your work.

Australia has plenty of great jobs available that you probably wouldn’t have been caught dead doing back home, such as a road traffic controller; you know, the person holding the lollipop stop/slow sign at roadworks and near construction sites.

Be assured this is not a job reserved for burley-looking construction workers, or little old ladies at zebra crossings in day-glow yellow coats. Loads of travellers are employed as traffic controllers and are paid construction industry award rates, often earning up to $1000 per week.

As a traffic controller, you can escape the stifling, air-conditioned office lifestyle. Instead, spend your days in the Aussie outdoors, visiting new and different places, working as part of a close-knit team, and making the most of this amazing climate.

It’s an ideal job for travellers and especially girls, as it has been proven that female traffic controllers can dispel road rage faster than men.

To get working as a traffic controller in NSW you will first need to get a Traffic Controllers Photo Licence, known as a Blue Card and an OH&S General Induction Certificate, known as a Green / White Card. You must also hold a full drivers licence.

Work as a barista

The cafe culture in Australia is huge. Aussies love their coffee and many feel no shame in flaunting their snobbery when it comes to getting it exactly as they like it: latte, flat white, short black, long black, macchiato, cappuccino, mocha, ristretto, doppio... the list goes on.

If you’re looking for a job where you can earn good money, have fun and socialise with the locals, working as a barista (a coffee making professional), or as a waiter in a local café could be right up your alley.

Most city cafes aspire to create their own cool personality and ambience, which means great customers, cool and interesting co-workers and plenty of opportunities to make good tips.

But it’s not just in the big smoke, as a certified barista your skills and experience will be valued all around Australia, making it even easier to pick up jobs as you travel. No matter how remote a town may be, almost everywhere has a café, bar, pub, roadhouse or restaurant with people hungry for a decent coffee.

If you have little or no coffee-making experience, a barista training course will provide the skills and experience you need to improve your chances of getting a job. After an intensive course with a barista expert, you will be bumping and grinding your way around some of the coolest cafes in town.