The NSW Government has anounced that it will provide a matched $100,000 to AgriFood Skills Australia to develop this project in the North West of NSW. The Minister for Regional Development, Phil Costa said AgriFood’s regional jobs project was being developed in response to the growing need to attract and retain skilled workers in the agrifood industry.

CEO Arthur Blewitt (right) with Don Tydd and Meryl Dillon from the Northern Inland Regional Development Board, in Narrabri on Friday 3 July.

Full report by Project Manager Niel JacobsenTen Network news report at Tamworth
See transcript of interview with Arthur Blewitt by journalist Laurie Wilson on the Australian Public Affairs Channel, on Fox and Austar

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“AgriFood Skills Australia and its project partners anticipate that growth in the agrifood, mining and other industries will result in a need for businesses to attract skilled workers to sustain and grow their enterprises,” Mr Costa said.

“Skills and workforce development is a concern for the whole community; employers as well as people entering and those already in the workforce, need to recognise that they have to adapt to changing business conditions to survive.”

Mr Costa said the project would lead to the development of a comprehensive skills and workforce plan for industry in the State’s North West that would support both employers and workers.

“This project will deliver a training and professional development program for business owners so they can address skills needs and learn how to become an employer-of-choice.

“It will also set out ways to provide information to school students about opportunities in the agrifood and other industries.

“A skills recognition program will be established for existing workers in the agrifood industry so they can gain formal accreditation for their skills.

“And, as seasonal work also plays an important role in the regional economy, there will be a special focus on this segment of the workforce in terms of coordinating supply and demand for these types of jobs.”

Mr Costa said: “According to ABS Statistics, the agrifood industry in North West NSW plays an important role in the State’s economy, employing over 12,000 people in primary production in the New England and North West Slopes and Plains.

“There are also several thousand jobs reliant on value-adding to primary production such as meat processing, flour and grain processing, food and wine, transport and logistics, and service industries

“By supporting the development of a strong skills base, the NSW Government is addressing jobs growth and diversity within the region.”

CEO of AgriFood Skills Australia, Arthur Blewitt, said the NSW Government’s support for the project was most welcome and would enable work to start immediately on developing sustainable approaches to attracting and retaining skilled people in the region.   

“This collaborative project is a result of feedback provided to AgriFood’s North West Regional Jobs Summit at Narrabri in July, hosted by AgriFood Skills Australia in partnership with government, industry and business development organisations.

“We decided that skills shortages in the region required a proactive and community-led approach,” Mr Blewitt said. “By working together we will develop and implement a plan that focuses on all areas impacted by skills shortages.”

The project is led by the AgriFood Skills Australia in partnership with the industry, businesses development organisations and local government.

Industry and Investment NSW is supporting AgriFood Skills Australia to help develop the economy of the Northern Inland region.

For more information on Industry and Investment NSW’s programs, visit   www.business.nsw.gov.au/region  

NEWS STORY regional Jobs Summit yields solutions and strategies

Summit helps region to find workers

Close to 100 people participated in a series of discussions, panels and presentations. Extensive regional media coverage was achieved on state and national television, radio, and newspapers - including the Sydney Morning Herald, Australian Financial Review and ABC radio.

Key speakers included Don Tydd and Meryl Dillon (pictured above) from the Northern Inland Regional Development Board, Narrabri Mayor Robyn Faber and members of other Industry Skills Councils, RTOs, NSW Government departments, employment agencies, academics and researchers, and growers.
Organisations included Tocal College, TAFE New England Institute, DPI Queensland, NSW DET, Central West Community College, Best Employment, Namoi Cotton, Cotton CRC, the  Association of Mining Related Councils, NSW TAFE and the Central Highlands Skills Formation Strategy. AgriFood Skills CEO Arthur Blewitt gave an overview of the aims of the Regional Jobs Summit, and Narrabri Mayor Robyn Faber highlighted problems the region faced of having a shrinking pool of workers and a lack of skills or access to flexible training.

Mayor Faber said the region had not been able to establish an effective regionally-based approach to attraction and retention of workers, made worse because the right type of training was not readily available.

“It has been difficult to get people to relocate to the region and seasonal workers are unwilling to go through a change in lifestyle and settle in the area,” she said.

Workforce attraction and retention were important considerations because skilled workers and school leavers were moving out of rural and regional communities.

The region’s priority needs were for:
 

• professional development for business owners and managers, and the provision of higher level skills for existing workers
• development of retention strategies for the region’s young people
• seeking jobs for the unemployed in Narrabri, as well as for displaced workers coming from other industries
• development of strategies and initiatives to attract and retain skilled workers and their families, ‘tree changers’ and business people to the region through the promotion of high-level and sophisticated job and career opportunities, linked to education and training support, lifestyle and regional growth.

Summit outcomes
There was agreement that a locally driven approach through partnership of regional organisations could provide the opportunity to deliver longer-term benefits for increasing employment and productivity. This would involve up-skilling existing workers, training new entrants/job seekers, and attracting and retaining skilled new workers and their families. 

There was a need to ensure that employees with specific skills were aware of local opportunities and that employers knew about employment options.

Employers needed to create new and challenging jobs to advance the careers and growth opportunities of their workforces. Local communities needed to ensure there were child care and other support services in place for families.

North West Advisory Group formed
The North West Advisory Group was set up with 18 members, representing regional organisations plus AgriFood Skills, representing a cross-section of regional and local industries, employers, employment groups, regional authorities and interested stakeholders.

The group initially will seek to create a Regional Action Plan based upon three broad platforms:

• Ascertain labour needs
• Identify strategies

Establish a skills demand calendarThe group will seek to identify skills, job needs and worker demand across the region and to draft a strategy plan that will strengthen and promote employment opportunities across the Narrabri region, including more effective attraction and retention initiatives.
AgriFood Skills will share the cost of employing this local person for two years to promote and advance the strategy.  This person would be Narrabri-based and be given support from AgriFood Skills to manage the affairs of the advisory group.

Environmental Scan
Our national consultations for the 2009 Environmental Scan 2009 Assuming the mantle revealed broad optimism about the capacity of the industry to be able to continue to grow and trade profitably, and to retain and grow its workforce. These findings are contained in Assuming the mantle, copies of which are available on request. or go to:

http://www.agrifoodskills.net.au/display_page.php?id=245