Build Queensland: Experts warn of skills crisis, critical job vacancies

The pandemic has exposed Queensland’s over-reliance on human capital from outside, and the current shortage has dire implications.

Queensland is in the middle of a skills and labour crisis, with a growing list of critical vacancies made worse by the lack of international labour, industry and businesses are warning.

Missing “human capital” is now a critical factor for industry with the state’s long term growth and prosperity hinging on it.

“The pandemic has shown us that we are over-reliant on international migrants, students and backpacker to fill many roles and this cannot perpetuate,” Urbis director Kate Meyrick said.

“Skills gaps are not a thing of the future, they are already with us and are worse in regional and rural areas.

“Education and skills training for Queenslanders is a critical foundation for future prosperity.

“We need to deepen our talent pool.”

Ms Meyrick said there were brilliant opportunities across regional Queensland but they needed to be supported.

New economy jobs did not exist by themselves, but needed services like childcare, health and education if they were to attract workers and construction, engineering and hospitality skills to reinforce lifestyle.

“Many of these new economic sectors are dependent on high levels of skill, specialist and transferable,” she said.

It was also critical the state “level up”, that no one was left behind, she said.

The Courier-Mail is presenting the Build Queensland campaign in partnership with Master Builders, The Star Entertainment Group, Brisbane Airport, Inland Rail, Cross River Rail, Transurban and Urbis to highlight the opportunities and challenges facing Queensland.

Sectors like processing, manufacturing and agriculture are crying out for workers.

Urbis director Kate Meyrick

North Queensland new tech entrepreneur Krista Watkins said the shortage had grown so critical she and her husband Rob were being forced to move their Natural Evolution business if they want to grow.

Launched 10 years ago in Walkamin on the Atherton Tableland to transform unwanted banana into a superfood powder, it has grown to produce five tonnes of the popular product a week from one million tonnes of green fruit a year.

If they could find the workers, they could expand to producing 10 tonnes a day for flour and stop 10 million tonnes of fruit a year going to waste, Ms Watkins said.

As well as workers, they also face a literal roadblock to expansion – the Barron River bridge that connects them to Cairns and their customers has been down to one lane for more than 12 months with no promise of when it will be fixed.

“We’re finding it really hard to get any staff. That’s not just the case right now – it’s been since August-September 2020,” Ms Watkins said.

“We’ve seen farms we work with putting in ads for 50 staff. Then we’ve seen wage hiking, people paying $30 an hour for fruit picking then others jacking it up beyond that to steal those workers away.

“It has been incredibly difficult.

“It’s forced us and our business to re-evaluate our future growth and expansion plans.

“There’s not much point expanding a business in a location where we can’t get people.

“We’re moving 80 per cent of our business to Cairns.”

Poor roads and connections were hitting business.

Krista Watkins, co-owner of Natural Evolution Foods. Picture: Brendan Radke

“Barron Bridge has been closed to one lane for 12 months now with no end in sight because of significant structural issues and there’s no commitment from any government on when, if and how that will be resolved,” Ms Watkins said.

“They’ve really cut us off.

“It’s a great place to work but for us to grow, we’re just going to have to do it somewhere else. We can’t grow a business and then not have anyone to work in it.”

Transport and Main Roads will have stop-go workers on the bridge until at least September while they inspect and repair 1000 welds on the steel bridge designed in the 1960s while a $2.1m study looks at a permanent solution.

Employment, skills and training minister Di Farmer said the state government was spending more than $1bn on training and skills programs focused on preparing Queenslanders for work, including an $200m over four years for skills programs for pre-apprenticeships, support for existing apprentices who have lost their jobs, and providing free training for Year 12 graduates and apprentices under 25.

More than 32,000 people have taken up the free training, including 29,000 apprentices.

There are over 70,000 apprentices currently employed in Queensland, she said, which is the highest number since October 2014.

A Queensland Government spokesman on Monday rejected suggestions the state lacked a plan.

“There is no greater evidence of the Government’s long-term planning for the state than that it is supporting our candidacy for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games,” he said.

“It has all three levels of government working in unison to deliver billions of dollars’ worth of major infrastructure.

“It dovetails into our long-published Economic Recovery Plan post-COVID which was prepared in association with every major industry group in the state.

“This plan was not only endorsed by them but by the state of Queensland at the election a little over 200 days ago.”