The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has posed many challenges, but perhaps one of the biggest challenges it has presented is job scarcity.

Several industries have been forced to cease operating, workers have been furloughed, and many women are facing job insecurity.

But it’s not all doom and gloom.

Even amidst a global pandemic, there are industries that are growing and even hiring, and Lauren Dare is making it her mission to connect Australians looking for work to industries that need them.

Through her business Switcharoo, an online platform that helps people who have lost their jobs to re-train and find work in new industries, Dare is providing skills training and employment services that allow people to move from a ‘bust’ industry to a ‘boom’ industry.

The Switcharoo platform allows people to undertake a self-paced online course which includes a resume and cover letter template, as well as an interview preparation guide designed specifically for the new industry. The best part is that the course can be completed within a day.

“With so many industries shutting down, we found that people needed to make an immediate move, and an immediate switch into jobs that were not only booming during COVID-19, but were likely to boom beyond COVID-19,” Dare said.

Once participants have completed the course, they are referred to Leap Employment who can help get them in front of prospective employers.

The booming industries hiring right now

Dare said she analysed data and the job marketplace to determine the types of skills jobseekers have and the jobs they would be best suited to in booming industries, both now and beyond COVID-19.

“What we’re able to do at Switcharoo is get people into entry-level positions, where they will then learn industry-specific skills to be able to leverage their previous experience – in perhaps another industry – and move up through those businesses,” she said.

These booming industries, and respective roles, include:

• Telecommunications: customer service representatives, helpdesk consultants, telemarketers, ICT sales assistants, inbound and outbound operators.
• Cleaning: domestic cleaners, commercial cleaners.
• Manufacturing and warehousing: storepersons, pickers and packers, freight handlers, warehouse labourers.
• Food services: shelf fillers, retail pickers and packers, delivery drivers.
• Transport and logistics: food delivery workers, courier services.
• E-commerce: order processors, digital marketers.
• Information technology and software: data entry officers, digital marketers.

Industry-specific insights

Dare said it was interesting to see the shift in specific industries since the onset of the coronavirus, especially as many sectors are now looking to produce locally again and avoid reliance on overseas markets.

“Certainly, the digitisation of the world has impacted where we’re headed but perhaps what we didn’t expect was reverse globalisation. So that trend is really a new one. The socio-economic trends that started with reverse globalisation basically got put on steroids during COVID-19, and now everyone wants everything to be brought back on-shore,” she said.

Food e-commerce is one industry segment that experienced high demand during lockdown restrictions, as people relied on food delivery services. Dare said she expects to see this industry go beyond merely purchasing food over the internet.

“We’ve seen the emergence of ‘dark kitchens’ – restaurants without tables. With so many restaurants solely reliant on home delivery during COVID-19, some restaurants have created really interesting (business) models out of that. The dark kitchen model, also known as the e-commerce of food, is expected to boom post COVID-19,” she said.

Commercial cleaning has also become a more valuable service.

“The demand for superior service (in commercial cleaning) has changed. It’s no longer a box-ticking exercise. They want quality suppliers providing detailed, next-level service,” Dare said.

Switcharoo’s course on telecommunications and customer service has been the most popular in recent months as people look to transfer existing skills in customer-facing roles to a new career. Dare also said women under the age of 40 showed a keen interest in positions in information technology and social media marketing.

For those looking to make a temporary or permanent career change, Dare said it is important to assess what your hard and soft skills are and how they can be transferred to booming industries.

Learn more about Switcharoo and their job starter packs here.