While many businesses are going offshore in search of skilled staff, there are Australian solutions. For instance, more could be done to reduce barriers and unlock prejudices to encourage more participation from women and seniors in the workforce.
This requires campaigns to promote more flexible arrangements to cater to their particular work and home needs.
Additionally, business needs to stop free-riding on government training programs and invest in training that adds value and capacity or they will be out of the market.
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Regional collaboration to pool resources is one option.
Most importantly, we need to confront these issues at a regional level, to target key areas and to develop solutions that meet district needs, rather than to rely on national approaches. Too many government bodies do their own thing in isolation from each other. As one manager said: “Businesses are being caught in a minefield of silos.”
Wayne Graham and Dr Scott Prasser of the University of the Sunshine Coast have completed research on skills shortages on the Sunshine Coast that has implications for growth regions across Australia. First published in The Courier-Mail on February, 21 2008.
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About the Authors
Dr Wayne Graham is a lecturer in Management in the School of Business at
the University of the Sunshine Coast. Wayne’s research interests
include strategy, business development, regional engagement and
management education.
Dr Scott Prasser has worked on senior policy and research roles in
federal and state governments. His recent publications include:Royal Commissions and Public Inquiries in Australia (2021); The Whitlam Era with David Clune (2022) and the edited New directions in royal commission and public inquiries: Do we need them?. His forthcoming publication is The Art of Opposition reviewing oppositions across Australia and internationally. .