Emilia De Sousa's job is quite literally a walk in the
park. With clients that jump for joy when she arrives, flexible work hours
and plenty of fresh air and time to exercise, the Fairy Meadow woman is
certainly not complaining.
Ms De Sousa packed in a nine-to-five office job to establish Emilia's
Home & Pet Care, a home and pet minding service that has operated
in the Illawarra since the end of May.
For a fair price, you can buy your four-legged friend some quality time
- whether it be a brisk walk, a few games or just some good old-fashioned
companionship.
For in today's busy world, Ms De Sousa said, pets often missed out on
the attention they craved.
"People are working harder, and longer, than ever before, "
she said.
"They love their pets and look after them really well but find that
they sometimes cannot give them all the attention they require - this
is where I come in.
"Pets get lonely, just as humans do, and I can provide them with
a bit of companionship while their owners are not there.
" I can also make sue they are exercised and fed when people are
working late or when they go away on business or holidays."
Ms De Sousa said she offered an alternative to those pet owners who did
not want to put their pet in boarding kennels.
" Pets miss their owners when they go away" she said. "If
they are then taken out of the environment they are accustomed to they
will miss that as well. I am able to attend to their needs in familiar
surroundings so they feel at ease."
Ms De Sousa, who has TAFE associate diploma in accounting, said she had
no regrets leaving behind a full-time office job at an accounting firm
in Sydney.
" I love being outdoors and I love animals," she said. "I
also like being my own boss and this way I can combine all these things."
Most of Ms De Sousa's clients are of the canine or feline, variety, however
she does not discriminate.
"I love all pets," she said. "Mostly I look after cats
and dogs by I cater for a variety of animals an have even been booked
to do some cockatoo sitting later this year!"
Ms De Sousa said she worked for a wide cross-section of the community,
from professional people who had to go away regularly on business, to
workers who just didn't have the energy to exercise their pets after a
hard day at work.
She also offers, a home minding service - collecting people's mail, attending
to garbage bins, watering plants and organizing security while people
are away.
" With more and more two-income families, people have less time to
cater to certain chores, such as pet care," she said. "This
is why the personal-service sector is steadily increasing." |
The personal-service industry now employs 333,000 Australians according
to business research and forecasting firm IBIS.
Chairman Phil Ruthven said the industry, which was worth a staggering
$21 billion in the financial year, had had rapid growth over the past
few decades.
" There has always been some form of personal service but the industry has grown
rapidly since the 1960s," he said.
"This is due to the rise in double-income families in the baby boomer category
- families that were less likely to save than their parents.
"These families began the conspicuous consumption period where personal services
and care were utilized like never before.
"In previous generations everything was DIY - you mowed your own lawns, you
cut your family's hair, you fixed your own car, you cooked each meal and
you looked after your own children.
"The baby boomer generation began to outsource all of these things - they were
mobile, more independent and less likely to feel guilty for getting help."
Mr Ruthven said the children of the baby boomers, those aged 15-34 commonly known
as generation X, were even more willing to outsource chores than their
parents had been.
"For these people, who make up 30 per cent of the population, outsourcing is
normal," he said.
"I believe the next generation will have even less qualms about outsourcing
work and may find those who still do their own chores rather quaint."
Mr Ruthven said the most popular domestic services were cleaning, ironing, cooking,
gardening, child minding, tutoring, pet care and health-care services.
"When both people are working they don't want to come home to a third job and
it usually doesn't pay to do so," he said.
"When all costs are taken into account, it's usually cheaper to outsource some
of your chores. If you value your own time and count in your labour and the
materials involved it is often more economical and more efficient to have someone do
such jobs for you."
Mr Ruthven said in today's overworked and under worked society - with
those juggling work and family commitments looking for help and those
who have been retrenched or are unemployed looking for work - an increase
in personal services was inevitable.
Dr Rene Leal, a sociology lecturer at Wollongong University, said the increase
in the personal-service industry came at the expense of traditional manufacturing
industries.
"The personal-service industry has increase due to the process of globalization
and how this has affected the labour market," he said.
"Many multinational corporations have transferred their manufacturing facilities
overseas to Third World countries to take advantage of the cheap labour.
"This has led to the growth of the service sector as people are not able to
find traditional jobs in factories."
Many Australians, like Ms De Sousa, have been able to take advantage of
the growth in service-oriented jobs.
In fact the Federal Government's New Enterprise Initiative Scheme (NEIS)
funded Ms De Sousa's business, enabling her to fulfill her dream of starting
her own business.
The Portuguese-born woman said for her, Australia was indeed the land
of opportunity.
"There are so many opportunities for migrants in Australia," she said.
"I had a good idea, I researched the viability of it and applied for the
NEIS and was successful.
"I knew there was a demand for this kind of service and my clientele is increasing
all the time."
Comment at the photo:
Emilia De Sousa enjoys working with enthusiastic clients like Mangerton's
Lily and Jack. |
