Niel jacobsen, Arthur Blewitt, John Baker and Mike Rafferty

Story: Gary Fry
The Central Highland region of Queensland is a dramatic vision of the labour shortage crisis. A comprehensive cross-section of stakeholders from throughout the local area gathered for a Regional Jobs Summit at the Mayfair Ridge Tavern in Emerald recently. The Jobs Summit was facilitated by AgriFood Skills Australia, in conjunction with the Central Highlands Development Corporation Ltd.

Chief Executive Officer of AgriFood Skills Australia, Arthur Blewitt told the Summit that the difficulty in recruiting and retaining workers in regional Australia is an escalating crisis of national concern. “In the near future, over 200,000 people are going to have to make a tree-change from metropolitan and coastal areas, if regional labour needs are to be met,” he said.

Central Queensland is an extreme case of the labour shortage crisis impacting upon regional Australia. The experiences of the Central Highlands region around Emerald, QLD may provide important insights to other regions, should they face economic development beyond the capacity of their labour market. The region’s population is in excess of 30,000 but close to 200,000, across the wider Fitzroy region.

Coal mining in the region has expanded exponentially in recent years, with three new large scale operations just around the corner.

Chairman of AgriFood Skills Australia, John Baker said he was encouraged by the level of attendance and participation from business, industry and government representatives in Emerald. “There are enormous challenges but the opportunities are virtually unlimited in the Central Highlands region of QLD. With coal mining and associated railway expansions, this region is expected to require 10,000-25,000 more workers in the next five to ten years,” he said.

Meanwhile, the labour shortage is really hitting home on the farm. The region has strong food production industries including fruit and vegetable growers, cropping and cattle. Agricultural jobs are perceived as the poor option, against a mining position. Farmers at the Summit said that when they manage to source workers, they often lack adequate agri-food skills, training and experience. Stories were conveyed by labour intensive agricultural food producing operations represented at the Summit about the pitfalls of having to rely on transient labour, such as foreign backpackers. One major local agri-food employer, Craig Pressler talked about the experiences on his citrus farms. The recruitment difficulties in finding and retaining table grape pickers, for example, has inspired him to develop innovative video-based orientation and training approaches.

Employers of the region voiced there frustrations and issues in recruiting and retaining workers. The Jobs Summit was told that the region around Emerald has an unemployment level of about 2 percent. Such low unemployment can appear to be a positive. However, this figure was clearly explained at the summit as demonstrative of a labour shortage crisis situation that is holding back economic development, adding pressure to businesses and even affecting the quality of life and administration of the region’s communities. Central Highlands Regional Council Mayor, Peter Maguire said that even the Regional Council had been unable to fill a large proportion of its staffing requirements in recent years.

The Jobs Summit featured presentations by panel members and open discussion sessions. Keynote presenter, Mike Rafferty is the Leading Researcher with the Workplace Research Centre at the University of Sydney. He outlined the Centre’s latest research findings and insights, focussing on education, work and economic renewal. Dr. Rafferty’s research amounted to advice to QLD’s Central Highland region and others like it, on how to address their challenges and move forward. He said that sustainable prices, incentive structures, stable and rewarding career paths and lifestyle need to be ensured and promoted.

“You must have sustainable alliances. Instead of individual firms and industries thinking about themselves and trying to offload risks. If they are to make a difference, people need to break down barriers and work together on a regional level,” he said. “We need to find leaders, prepared to build those bridges across industries and sectors, to become regional champions of change,” Dr. Rafferty said. The Summit headed in that direction.

According to Arthur Blewitt, the Jobs Summit initiated a process of empowering local stakeholders to take responsibility for how their region confronts its challenges. He expressed confidence that cross-sectoral representatives, from employer and government perspectives, will put their hand up to be part of a new regional group. “AgriFood Skills Australia will oversee this process. We’ll advise and help them, but at the end of the day, it will be the responsibility of pro-active locals to make it work,” he said.

Central Highlands Development Corporation Skills Formation Strategy Project Officer, Tony Robinson said he was very happy with the Summit, particularly the communication it stimulated. “We had a good roll-up of employers and employment, training and government service providers.”

Mr. Robinson began taking names and details for the proposed employer representative group at the conclusion of the Summit. At least 20 representative stakeholders will be needed and Mr Robinson was optimistic that critical mass will be found. “We will need State Government funding and support and we’ve already had encouraging dialogue with the Treasurer and other areas of the Government. If we can get the funding issues sorted out, by the November 30 deadline, I’m confident we’ll see a great regional initiative begin,” he said.

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Locals on local issues… Central Highlands Regional Council Mayor, Peter Maguire with Central Highlands Development Corporation Skills Formation Strategy Project Officer, Tony Robinson