$8,800 pay day for temporary stint in job with 'no experience required:' 'Need 1,300 people'

GrainCorp is hiring more than 1,300 people for work spanning the next few months as harvest season kicks into full gear. (Source: Supplied)

Grain farms across Australia’s eastern states are entering harvest season, and one company is looking for more than 1,300 workers to help collect and store the food. With Australia’s job market incredibly tight at the moment, this could be a huge opportunity for those looking for short-term casual gigs to tide them over.

The roles only last one to four months and are located across 180 parts of regional Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria, with the harvest season being different for each state. There are three key areas that GrainCorp are hiring for, but you don’t need any experience.

GrainCorp Head of National Operations Jason Shanley told Yahoo Finance this is like their grand final and they need as many hands as possible.

“The recruitment of a large harvest workforce is a crucial piece of that puzzle, to ensure we have the right people on board to manage the task,” he said.

“It’s the perfect opportunity for anyone looking for some casual work, a new experience, a tree-change, or even a career in agriculture, to get out and see regional Australia.

“The agriculture industry is also a fantastic place to grow a career – many of our leaders at GrainCorp started as harvest casuals and are still here with us today.”

Ahead of every harvest season, GrainCorp employs around 5,000 people in short-term casual roles.

The company said it’s looking for people from all walks of life, including university students, locals, backpackers, and grey nomads.

Do you have a story? Email stew.perrie@yahooinc.com

The company will pay for you to be trained up so you can hit the ground running on day one.

Your salary will depend on where you’re based, with some locations paying as little as $34.45 per hour, and others paying as much as $44.36 per hour.

GrainCorp is hiring for the following positions, and there are a whopping 1,371 vacancies:

Grain Handler (Silo / Bunker Operator / General labouring): You’ll have to monitor the flow of grain from a truck onto equipment and into storage, ensure the work area is clean, protect and cover the grain, and operate equipment like tractors, augers, and drive-over hoppers

Sample Stand Attendant: Be the first point of contact for growers and truck drivers coming to the site, obtain grain samples and test them, enter data and maintain a clean work environment

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Weighbridge Operator: Enter data on truck weight, answer telephone calls, and perform basic admin tasks

Harvest season is in August and September in central Queensland, mid-October for southern Queensland and northern New South Wales, and late October to November for southern New South Wales and Victoria.

Shifts will be no shorter than four hours and can be as long as 10 hours, with some starting in the early hours of the morning and going through the night.

Because the harvest season requires a lot of work, staff will be rostered on shifts spanning Monday to Sunday, including public holidays.

“It is important that you make yourself available through these periods, within reason,” GrainCorp said.

“Your Site Manager will discuss this further with you when you start, and you should let them know if you have an important occasion to take into consideration when planning rosters.”

GrainCorp warned that some of the work can see you exposed to “challenging environmental conditions”, like dust, noise, traffic, and hot temperatures, so the roles aren’t for the fainthearted.

To apply, you have to:

Have your own accommodation (house or caravan)

Be available to work between September and December (timing depends on location)

Be willing and able to work outdoors and in shifts

Be at least 16 years old

You can find out more information here.

While there are some hiring blitzes going on at the moment at the ATO, Graincorp, Australia Post and Amazon, these are typically short-term, casual contracts needed for the busy end-of-year period.

But job site SEEK recently revealed role listings have fallen 11 per cent across Australia.

This comes as the number of applications per job ad are on the rise, showing there is an increasing number of people competing for fewer roles.

Seek chief executive and managing director Ian Narev predicted employment growth will remain flat to low in the next financial year.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment rate fell from 4.3 per cent to 4.2 per cent.

Full-time employment grew by 60,000 people, however this was partially offset by a 36,000 person fall in part-time employment.

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$8,800 pay day for temporary stint in job with ‘no experience required:’ ‘Need 1,300 people’

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