Bored with your current job and fed up of cloudy skies? Or sick of looking for a job in credit-crunch Britain? South Australia might have the job for you, with the state government starting a campaign offering Britons aged 18 to 30 the chance to  take up unusual and quirky jobs on their Australian Working Holiday.

While it may sound like another spin on the successful “Best Job in the World” campaign, the South Australian Government says the difference is this campaign is about exciting work and travel options for everyone.

South Australia's London-based agent general Bill Muirhead said life seems to be dealing workers a rough hand at the moment and the jobs they are offering are in stark contrast to the UK's long working hours and high taxes.

"This isn't about one job that everyone has to compete for, but rather about showing people that South Australia offers more exciting work and travel options than anywhere else in the world.

"And anyone on a working holiday could do them,” Mr Muirhead said.

Quirky jobs that offer ultimate work-life balance

Jobs include driving the world's first solar-powered bus fleet in the coastal city of Adelaide, catching koalas, shark personality profiling in Port Lincoln, beer taster or Fairy Penguin home remodeller on Kangaroo Island.  Even a position of “roo poo” harvester is on offer.

All interested applicants need to do is fly to South Australia on an Australian Working Holiday Visa to be in contention for the unusual jobs. None of the jobs require previous experience.

The campaign follows a survey by the South Australian government of 2000 British workers that found an estimated 60 per cent of British employees were bored with their jobs. Those most bored by their work come from Portsmouth, Chelmsford, Southampton, Cardiff and Oxford, with those from Wrexham, and Coventry among the most disgruntled.

The survey revealed the most boring job sectors to be electronics, administration, retail and call centre work.

In contrast, the South Australian Government says life in the state is the “ultimate work-life balance”.

The Queensland tourist board posted the “Best Job in the World” in January 2009 to raise its profile around the world and increase tourism, inspiring more than 34,000 applicants and generating millions of dollars worth of free advertising for the destination.

Briton Ben Southall won the “Best Job in the World” campaign to become caretaker of Queensland’s exotic Hamilton Island. 

- Stephanie Bradley is Content and Communications Editor for the Australian Visa Bureau.

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