PM’s ’strike team’ is luring talent to NQ
A “boomerang phenomenon” is occurring in North Queensland as a result of COVID-19, and it could be the advantage our busted economy needs, according to one expert.
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A “boomerang phenomenon” is occurring in North Queensland as a result of COVID-19, and it could be the advantage our busted economy needs, according to one expert.
Townsville based economist Colin Dwyer coined the term in response to observing well educated, highly skilled workers returning to Australia from overseas jobs.
He said the trend presented a unique opportunity for regional areas like Townsville to capitalise on.
“I’d like to drill deeper into the people who get educated in Townsville, leave for professional opportunities and then decide to come back bringing new ideas and enthusiasm,” Mr Dwyer said.
“We’re seeing a lot of it happening now with people deciding North Queensland is a much better place to ride out (COVID-19).
“Job prospects are improving at the moment and that’s always the case so its an area that we need to work hard on and attract industries that are going to attract better higher paying jobs and career progression but also retain those workers.”
It comes after the federal government launched a new task force focused on attracting global business and talent to Australia.
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The task-force will combine the home affairs department with the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), and draw on expertise from the Treasury, the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Industry, science, Energy and Resources, Defence, and the Department of Education, Skills and Employment.
Referred to as the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy for Global Business and Talent Attraction, it will operate as a ‘strike team’ to turbocharge the creation of jobs by boosting our efforts to attract high value global business and exceptional talent.
The initial focus will be on three key sectors: advanced manufacturing, financial services (including FinTech) and health.
Mr Dwyer, who’s long campaigned for decentralisation of industries, said it was time to challenge the “traditional” approach to business and that Townsville was well positioned given industry diversity and major projects in the pipeline.
He said people were moving for a variety of reasons but they needed a purpose to be here and he wouldn’t be encouraging anyone to relocate unless there was a job to come to.
“There are cost benefits of living and doing business in a regional location and I think overall there is a net benefit in people moving to a regional city like Townsville,” he said.
“I think we can do better in niche manufacturing and value adding to inland agriculture and mining and also defence systems and training.”
“We need to work harder on attracting not just private industries but also big government departments.”
Smart Precinct managing director Matt Steine echoed the sentiments and said it was time to look beyond capital cities for future innovation.
He said with good internet connectivity, which Townsville has, anything was possible.
“What we really need to see in future is Governments supporting people to create their own jobs, building a culture of entrepreneurship,” he said.
“We aren’t short of people with technical skills, we’re short of people willing to dream big enough.
“Advancing digital transformation has the potential to create whole new markets for people who are regional and us being remote is no longer the barrier it used to be.”
Originally published as PM’s ’strike team’ is luring talent to NQ