Just a few weeks ago Zoe Giagoudakis was working for the YMCA and then the world changed and her job was no longer there.

But if ever there was clear proof of the truth of the saying: “When one door closes, another opens” it is now in this time of business shutdowns thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ms Giagoudakis who lives in Malvern, Melbourne, was working at the YMCA when it had to close because of regulations brought in to combat the spread of the Covid-19 virus. The Bachelor of Commerce student at Melbourne University was worried about she could earn money to set aside.
“Once YMCA closed I didn’t have anything else so I was just looking for a new job,” the 18-year-old said.

But the big supermarket chains like Coles and the Woolworths Group have stepped into the job vacuum and have begun hiring thousands who have been made redundant in recent weeks.

Last Saturday, 28 March, Coles announced that over the previous two weeks it had employed 7,000 people and it wanted to employ 5,000 more. Not to be outdone by its rival, the Woolworths Group announced that over this month it would hire up to 20,000 new recruits across its supermarkets, e-commerce, supply chain and drinks businesses in Australia.

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Ms Giagoudakis grabbed the opportunity and started as a member of a Coles customer service team  on the checkouts of a local supermaket last Saturday.

“I applied for Coles and they contacted me and said ‘you have got this position and can start work in a couple of days, come in and we will train you on the job’.

“You have to take a hold of any opportunity you have,” said Ms Giagoudakis.