Placing productivity at the heart of the White Paper narrative is an encouraging sign but now is time for meaningful action, Business NSW Executive Director Regional NSW and Visitor Economy Paula Martin said.
“Businesses are still recovering from the skills shortage crunch caused by the pandemic, so it’s critical that immediate steps are taken to improve economic productivity,” Ms Martin said.
“We are pleased to see the report’s focus on skilling the workforce for future jobs in the net zero economy, care, tech and cyber sectors.
“Our recent Business Conditions Survey shows just how difficult it is for businesses to get the staff they need – with business owners resorting to staff hoarding despite cutting deep into their profit margins.
“We need employers to have access to the skills they need when they need them.
“We look forward to seeing more details of how the National Skills Passport can build trust that prospective employees will be able to do the job.
“The White Paper underscores the need for new models to support apprentices to complete their training, although we are keen to see more detail.”
Following Business NSW’s submission in November 2022, we are pleased to see in the White Paper:
• A focus on productivity growth throughout the White Paper;
• Steps to address structural sources of underutilisation of labour, especially looking at youth participation rates and older workers;
• Steps to improve workforce planning, especially in key focus areas of net zero economy, care sectors and tech/cyber; and
• The establishment of six TAFE Centres of Excellence with $41 million of funding.
“Business NSW will work with the government over the coming months as it looks to translate the intentions set out in the White Paper into implementable policy.” Ms Martin said.
The report can be found here: https://treasury.gov.au/employment-whitepaper/final-report
