THIS outdoorsy job offers the opportunity to keep your hands busy and earn more than £4,000 a month.
But despite its many perks, including exposure to fresh air and nature as well as short six-hour work days, no one wants to do it.
GettyThe outdoorsy job offers plenty of fresh air and nature, yet no one wants to do it[/caption]
AlamyAn apple orchard near Shepperton, Victoria, Australia[/caption]
Another major positive about the job is that it will take you to Australia, where you can enjoy warm temperatures, unique wildlife, and some of the world’s most beautiful beaches in your free time.
Aussie farms are always looking for people to help pick crops during the harvest season and pay very high wages to those willing and able.
In June last year, Australian MP Anne Webster pleaded for workers to step forward and sort the season’s bumper crops amid a critical shortage of workers she described as a “tragedy in the making”.
She said: “Citrus growers here in Sunraysia are faced with wonderful crops and a healthy export market (despite global shipping constraints), but there is one critical ingredient missing: workers.
“Citrus pickers can currently earn $400 (£225) per day, working 10.30 to 4.30pm. That is $2,000 (£1,100) per week.
“But there are so few workers these crops are at risk of falling to the ground. The citrus industry is worth $520million (£292million).
“If it falls to the ground it is worth zero.”
Those interested in picking fruit can do so in various parts of Australia at different times of the year.
In Victoria, most jobs become available between November and April with main harvests including orchard fruits, tomatoes, tobacco, grapes, and soft fruits.
Picking citrus and soft fruits can be done all year round in South Australia – or other produce in Tasmania, Queensland, and Western Australia during specific periods.
Last year, Dr Webster said the industry reached a “crisis” point with contractors in her region desperately short of workers, meaning local farmers were left with no choice but to plough acres of fruit trees.
A scan of Australian job sites shows there are currently a wide range of well-paid fruit and vegetable picking roles available.
Adult casual workers picking fruit or vegetables are paid an hourly rate of at least $28.26 (£15) an hour, as at July 1 this year, although wages can be significantly higher when demand is stronger – as it is likely to be again mid-next year.
Wage amounts will also depend on the type of work employees are doing; citrus pickers, for example, may be paid much more than other fruit and vegetable pickers.
Australia’s pool of seasonal workers dried up when the Covid pandemic and border shutdowns saw backpackers leave the country in droves.
The government set up a scheme to lure in locals to pick up the slack – worth up to $6,000 (£3,300) for Australian workers and up to $2,000 (£1,100) for international job seekers.
A number of other high-paying jobs are available in different sectors in Australia, including as a fly-in-fly-out carpenter in the mines.
Brit Jared Deacon seized such an opportunity and is now earning a whopping £52,000 after tax despite working just half the year.
Meanwhile, a TikToker named Ashlea is raking in the cash working as a truck driver in Western Australia.
The glamorous young woman also works at a mine site, where she said the cost of “everything” including accommodation and food are covered by her employer.
She earns £60,000 a year doing a job no one seems to want, and manages to look glam even in her bright yellow mine site workwear.