It’s a thankless task running a business in regional Queensland.
A shortage of skilled workers, supply chain disruptions and rising costs means there are a lot of sleepless nights for employers in the North.
Getting goods and services from point a to b is the difference between earning a dollar or not.
The same can be said for finding skilled workers to produce those goods.
And, when it comes to rising costs, ask any regional business operator which is less painful: a dental appointment or their energy bill.
They’ll go for the dentist every time.
Ai Group’s Centre for Education and Training surveyed more than 250 companies recently.
The results showed 78 per cent of employers in Queensland worry about supply chains and rising costs — seven per cent higher than the national level.
Given the current Government’s commitment to Queensland’s circa $89 billion dollar ‘Big Build’, much of it to be set in our regions, it begs the question of how these projects will be delivered, if at all.
As the North Queensland Cowboys theme song written by my good friend, Graeme Connors, goes: “Up here, we do things differently, part of our history I guess, born tough, bred proud to stand out from the crowd.”
Tough times call for tough people and organisations.
A solid core of Ai Group’s members in Queensland are manufacturers.
This sector alone contributes more than $24billion a year to the Queensland economy.
Our manufacturers may be tough, but they are struggling.
When all your costs are increasing, that hurts.
There are workforce costs. Operational costs. Industrial relations costs. Regulatory and insurance costs and logistical costs.
Despite promises of cheaper energy solutions from all levels of government, energy prices in regional Queensland have skyrocketed.
Our businesses are struggling to attract, retain and afford a skilled workforce.
There might be talk of sovereign manufacturing solutions, onshoring of critical ability and growth of the sector aligned to the Future Made in Australia frameworks, but the reality is: manufacturing is not viewed as ‘sexy’ by school leavers and those coming through the training ranks or choosing career pathways for VET or Higher Education.
When ‘kids’ think of manufacturing, they think of the dirty factories of the past. How wrong they are! You wouldn’t believe how pristine and impressive today’s manufacturing plants are.
Many boast the latest in technology, with automation that makes light work of duties once thought suitable only for strong lads.
Manufacturing also competes against a myriad of industry sectors contributing to the workforce and economic ‘perfect storm’ that exists in Queensland.
The number of technical or tradespeople needed to deliver Queensland’s future is increasingly mind-boggling.
Whether they are renewables projects, critical minerals projects, regional infrastructure, resources sector projects or defence projects, the estimates of new workers are staggering.
Some venture into the tens of thousands needed in the next five to ten years — and did someone mention the Brisbane Olympics in 2032?
Our survey shows the workers most difficult to recruit in this state are tradespeople, technicians and labourers – the heart and soul of the regions.
Unique to regional Queensland is that they want people to come and live and work here. They want a consideration of place-based skilled migration solutions, and they will welcome many with open arms.
Where and how to house them, though, is another concern in serious need of consideration from all sides of politics.
The challenge for our next government is to set up the state for success with a workforce, training and a migration system cognisant of the economic powerhouse that is regional Queensland.
Enough with the regulation. Business is buried in it.
They’re fighting against elements such as Best Practice Industry Conditions (BPIC), which forces them to be pitched against organisations in the southern part of the state soaking up most of the government contracts and work.
They’re being forced to pay a premium to compete on government infrastructure projects.
Throw on top of that massive increases in regional insurance costs and stamp duty.
And let us not forget the Federal Government’s industrial relations reforms. The pressure keeps mounting.
Many question the reality of the timing of a transition to a cleaner economy and want a balance of energy to be tied to both coal, gas and renewables.
The reality is, that despite our abundance of renewables, we will need feed stock power to get us through. And, that is a sector that has provided a lifeblood to local jobs, innovation and prosperity.
In regional Queensland, the challenges are real.
Just because we’re tough, it doesn’t mean we don’t hurt.
We can only hope the next Queensland Government will embrace the North and support it as the economic powerhouse that it is.
