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South Australians are, unfortunately, well aware of the phrase the "valley of death".
Key points:
- The SA Government says young working adults are the most likely to leave
- The changing nature of work is increasingly contributing to the trend
- While some sectors like manufacturing are in decline, others are booming
The doom-and-gloom term has been used by both sides of politics, particularly over contracts for the building of new navy ships and submarines.
The "valley" is the gap between the end of one project and the start of the next.
The "death" is what happens to jobs, opportunity and the future when they fall into the valley.
But now, social researcher Mark Dean said the state faces a valley of death in a different area — demographics — and it is largely driven by the changing nature of work.
"In South Australia, we have a ballooning population of young people and a ballooning population of older people and somewhat of a valley of death of young people," Dr Dean said.
"Young adults, who are of early career age, who've made their start, but who are now leaving Adelaide for opportunity."
When the ABC caught up with Dr Dean at his office on the site of the old Mitsubishi factory, he was busy proving his "valley of death" theory.
"My office is looking decidedly neat at the moment, because I'm in the process of packing it up and moving to Melbourne," Dr Dean said.
"The reason I'm making this move in one word is opportunity.
"I've had a great time here … it's just, I don't see a sustainable future for myself here in Adelaide in terms of where my career aspirations lie."
More than 5,000 people moved interstate from South Australia in 2017/18, and the State Government said young working-age adults — like Dr Dean — were the most likely group to leave.
But instead of hand-wringing about youngsters going, Dr Dean said the Government needed to set itself another task.
"We should let them go, but we need to find ways to bring them back and in my research, we haven't done that," he said.
A tough job market for young people
With youth unemployment in South Australia sitting at 11.7 per cent, according to the ABS, many young people would be happy with any job.
However, for Dani Bozoski, she has been lucky enough to score an after-school gig, one where many Australians have uttered the phrase: 'would you like fries with that?'
"This is my first job and it's really changed me," Ms Bozoski said.
"I'm a completely different person now to who I was when I first started my job.
"One of the biggest things I can say is confidence. I've gained so much talking to customers and also all the career skills I've learnt."
Her initial foothold on the career ladder is a well-worn path.
According to McDonalds, 1.3 million Australians — the equivalent of about 5 percent of the population today — have worked for the company since it opened here in 1971.
Ms Bozoski's plan next year is to start a double degree in law and journalism. Her dream is to work in civil rights.
"I like to think I'm a bit of a person with empathy … that interest has always been there, it's always been something that I thought I've wanted to do," she said.
At this stage, she sees herself staying in the one career.
If she manages to achieve that, Dr Dean said she would be in the minority.
"As far as a straight shoot from a first professional job through to a career in that same area, I don't think that's likely to happen," Dr Dean said.
"There's been studies that have suggested that young people now just entering the workforce are likely to have as many as 17 different career paths in their entire career, working life."
How do you adapt in a changing job market?
Change is the new normal in South Australia, and the state's employment figures by industry sector highlight why.
From 2011 to 2016, it lost more than 18,000 manufacturing jobs and that is tipped to continue.
By 2023, manufacturing jobs are expected to decline another 1.1 per cent.
The mining sector is also set to shed jobs.
In contrast, agriculture, construction and education will add them.
And another sector will be in very good health.
The healthcare and social assistance sectors will grow by 11.7 percent — that's about 15,000 positions, or more than one in three new jobs created in SA.
That's good news for Chadi Makari, 36, — a former interior designer who has just retrained as a disability care support worker.
"I wasn't so much scared about making a change, but anxious about how it's going to be," Mr Makari said.
"At the same time, I knew I could bring something else to the table with my previous experience as a designer."
He now works with two young men with a disability — David and Scott — who live in supported accommodation.
But it has not meant Mr Makari's good taste has been put to waste.
He has added some designer flair to make it less of a facility and more of a home.
"It's not just a job where you come here and you do it and then you go home," Mr Makari said.
"If it is like that, then you actually won't go anywhere and you won't be able to actually achieve anything and make someone happy … including yourself."
Adaptation a part of life
While her working life may be behind her, Adelaide grandmother Rina Sartoretto, remembers all too well about adapting to new work after migrating to Australia from Italy 60 years ago.
Like many of the time, she moved with her husband in the wake of World War II.
"It wasn't very nice, we were all crammed in that ship like pecore … that's Italian for sheep," Mrs Sartoretto said.
"When we got here, I couldn't speak English. I'd say to people 'me want work, you give me job?'"
Any job would do, and like many now in South Australia's changing job market, Mrs Sartoretto had to adjust.
She worked in a fruit cannery.
In the evening at home, she made dresses for sale.
She even helped lay house bricks in Adelaide's rapidly expanding western suburbs, where after saving enough money, the family bought its first home.
"This house means everything to me," Mrs Sartoretto said.
"We always live here until my husband passed away, my two boys were born here … we did our lives here."
While the job market is changing, the ambitions we hold — a family, a home, a sense of worth — seem to remain the same.
This is part three of South Australia's Our Changing State series that looks at how SA is changing and the challenges it must overcome.
Topics: community-and-society, economic-trends, unemployment, youth, adelaide-5000, sa, australia