WORK180 launches Knack to help young Australians find jobs
Mon, 19th Oct 2026 (Today)
WORK180 has launched Knack, a jobs platform for young Australians. More than 4,500 people have already signed up.
Knack is aimed at jobseekers who may not know which roles or industries to target as they enter the workforce. Instead of asking users to search by job title, the platform asks about their skills, interests and preferences, then matches them with current vacancies.
The launch comes against a difficult backdrop for younger workers. Youth unemployment stands above 10%, more than double the national unemployment rate, while one in four Australians under 25 is working fewer hours than they want.
More than 10% of young people are not in work or education, and about 600,000 young Australians are unemployed or underemployed. At the same time, employers continue to report shortages in several parts of the labour market.
AI concerns
Research cited by WORK180 suggests uncertainty about artificial intelligence is shaping how younger people think about careers. Among those surveyed, 58% had made a career decision influenced by AI, while 69% were at least moderately concerned about its effect on their job prospects.
That anxiety sits alongside a broader disconnect between the jobs many young people know about and the roles employers need to fill. WORK180 pointed to shortages across energy, infrastructure, technology, healthcare, advanced manufacturing and skilled trades.
National skills data cited by the company showed 36% of occupations assessed in 2023 were experiencing a skills shortage. That figure rose to 50% for technician and trade occupations, and 48% for professional occupations.
Gemma Lloyd, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of WORK180, said many young people start with limited visibility of the careers available to them. "A young person can't aspire to a career they don't know exists," Lloyd said.
Matching model
Knack is intended to address that problem by reversing the logic of a standard jobs board. Rather than relying on users to know a job title in advance, it identifies suitable openings from answers about what they are good at and what kind of work they may enjoy.
Among the first vacancies listed are about 200 entry-level customer field technician roles. Applicants do not need a university degree or trade qualification, and the roles include eight weeks of training before work starts.
Lloyd said the role showed how many school leavers may overlook openings they would not think to search for directly. "How many school leavers would open a jobs website and type 'customer field technician' into the search bar?" she said. "There are great careers available that young people simply don't know exist. At the same time, we have employers looking for workers and young Australians looking for jobs. We need to make it much easier for those two groups to find each other," Lloyd said.
No ghosting
Another part of the platform is a pledge that applicants will receive a response after applying for a job through Knack. WORK180 also plans to identify people who have applied unsuccessfully for an extended period and offer extra support.
The measure targets one of the most common complaints among younger applicants, who often submit multiple applications without hearing back. That can make an already difficult transition into work even more uncertain, particularly for candidates with limited labour market experience.
Lloyd said the company wanted to change that experience. "Looking for your first job is hard enough without sending application after application into a black hole. If a young person takes the time to put themselves forward for a job, they deserve a response. We want to create a better experience for young people entering the workforce and make sure no one using Knack simply gets ghosted," Lloyd said.
For employers, WORK180 said the service offers a way to reach candidates who might otherwise never apply, while broadening awareness of less familiar entry points into the workforce. The launch follows the establishment of the company's Early Careers Coalition, which is intended to improve routes into work and give young Australians more visibility of job options.