Click go careers as COVID-19 setbacks open unexpected doors in short-handed shearing industry

Sophie Allen’s career as a Melbourne event designer came to an abrupt end last year when COVID-19 restrictions temporarily shut down the events industry.

With no work on the horizon, she was told by her employer the pandemic restrictions would mean she would be “long-term stood down”.

Those same restrictions inadvertently opened the door to a new career — one in regional Victoria.

When international borders shut, Australia’s wool industry quickly found itself in the grips of a shearer shortage.

“My boyfriend is a shearer and he said…