The Queensland Government last month released a ten-year plan to address workforce shortages designed to support all Queenslanders who want to work into good jobs.
The Good people. Good jobs: Queensland Workforce Strategy 2022–2032 includes an investment of $70 million in the first Action Plan (2022–2025) to enable all Queenslanders to secure the work they want, support employers to develop inclusive work practices and grow a more diverse workforce.
The Strategy draws on the contributions made at the Queensland Workforce Summit and lays out a shared vision for the future. It stresses the importance of industry, business, communities and government working together to ensure the state’s workforce is positioned to capitalise on the opportunities ahead.
There are five key focus areas in the Strategy:
- Workforce participation to enable all Queenslanders to participate in the workforce and to support Queensland’s employers to rethink their employment practices and grow a more diverse workforce
- Local solutions for the implementation of workforce planning and initiatives, and for the coordination of efforts across industry, the community and government at all levels to focus on local and regional priorities
- School-to-work transitions that create strong and effective school-industry partnerships across Queensland and improve access to high quality career information for school students
- Workforce attraction and retention where partnerships with industries and communities on new approaches to attract and retain workers are established and support is provided for industry led initiatives designed to work differently and increase workforce capability and capacity
- Skilling Queenslanders now and into the future to develop an innovative, modern and flexible training system, to increase collaboration between government, industry and the education system at all levels.
New initiatives included in the 2022-2025 Action Plan include:
- Workforce Connect Fund to increase investment in industry and community led projects that address workforce shortages
- A network of Industry-based Workforce Advisors to work directly with employers to help them to address workforce challenges and diversify their workforces
- Partnerships with regions to develop workforce plans and initiatives to support ‘grow your own’ workforces and cross-sector skills development
- Expansion of the Gateway to Industry Schools Program to include the hydrogen industry and ensure accessibility for individuals and groups that may be underrepresented
- Establishing Regional School Industry Partnership managers in education regions to strengthen school-industry partnerships and support school-to-work transitions
- Partnerships with rural and remote communities to deliver local skills and job creation initiatives to increase workforce capacity in these locations
- Initiatives focussed on supporting apprentices and trainees to complete their training
- A partnership with the health and community services sectors to create and implement sector-led workforce development, attraction and retention strategies
- Expansion of the Group Training Organisation Pre-Apprenticeships Program to encourage more individuals to complete an apprenticeship and to provide employers with greater access to skilled workers
- Extension of the Micro-Credentialing Pilot Program to provide increased access to industry-supported short courses
