Why Gympie is losing its young workers just when it needs them most

Nearly a third of Gympie's youth vanish by their early 20s as the region struggles to retain young talent despite booming population growth and billions of dollars in infrastructure projects.

The Gympie region is facing a serious problem in the mass relocation of young workers.

Gympie is growing fast, boasting draw cards for more mature demographics that include affordability and a quiet regional lifestyle.

But counter to the population surge has been the continued exodus of its youth, who leave en masse for education and employment elsewhere, at a time when skilled young workers are needed most, with billions of dollars in infrastructure and development underway.

2021 census data shows nearly a third of the 15-to-19-year-old population cohort in Gympie vanished by the time they reached 20 to 24 years-of-age.

While the draw of the city has been pulling young Queenslanders from towns for many decades, the issue is more pronounced in the Wide Bay.

Shockingly, from June 2024 to June 2025, youth unemployment in the Wide Bay rose almost 68 per cent, from 7.4 to 12.4 per cent, while the state average dropped more than 5 per cent from 9.4 to 8.9 per cent, ABS data showed.

At the same time as the relative affordability of Gympie brought older cohorts and families into the region, rent, work and education shortages have pushed young talent out.

A small survey of some young people revealed common themes as to why they left: a lack of work, rent and social life in Gympie.

Former assistant manager Zane Springall left Gympie for the big smoke in mid-June, he said.

Zane Springall, 22, formerly of Gympie, said his main motivation for leaving town was a lack of job prospects. Picture: Supplied

Now Brisbane-based, Zane, 22, said once his family and friends moved away, there were not enough job prospects, nightlife or community events to keep him here.

“I didn’t go to university... but I worked (in Gympie) for four years, and there wasn’t much (in Gympie) in the way of career progression,” he said.

“I couldn’t go any higher up without driving to the Sunshine Coast.”

Zane said while he ultimately decided to move for career growth, he “was very much supported by (his) leaders and colleagues to take the next steps there”.

A lack of nightlife, “unsafe” conditions after dark and the decommissioning of the Civic Centre, a former cultural hub, were the final straws for Zane.

Gympie mother Rhiannon Jones said the area was “a great place to raise” her four children, but the closure of the Civic Centre, a lack of housing availability and work shortages were keenly felt by three of her now-teenage children.

“Having more tertiary facilities locally would certainly encourage kids to further their education or get more skills,” Rhiannon said.

“I can see there’s a bit of a gap upon leaving school (and) turning 18, facility-wise.”

Amy-lea Sutton, another young person who recently left Gympie, shares many of the same sentiments.

Projects like the $18.4 billion Borumba Dam pumped hydro project are going to need plenty of skilled workers, but they likely will not be coming from Gympie.

“There’s no work available, there is literally no entertainment unless you want to go to the duck ponds.

“I find there is nothing there (in Gympie).”

Despite having “plenty of work experience”, Amy-lea said the pressure to move to the Sunshine Coast for work was disheartening.

“They literally asked me, “are you willing to travel to the Sunshine Coast?”

“Like, no, I want to work in Gympie, why would I want to travel?”

She said many at the workplace of her Sunshine Coast-based partner came from Gympie, “because they just can’t find work (there)”.

Amy-lea said she now lives in Palmview, where she has found better employment.

A 25-year-old New South Wales resident, who wished to remain anonymous, left Gympie when she was 19 years old, two years after moving away from her parents into emergency housing.

She said she left Gympie due to limited cultural and work opportunities, after having moved around several schools in town.

“My dad still lives in Gympie, I don’t think he’ll ever leave,” she said.

She now lives with and supports her partner in his “dream career” as a horticulturist.

Others were more forlorn about their decision to move.

Maroochydore resident Daikaya Laing-Clarke, 19, who moved to Imbil at 12 years old and into Gympie at 16, said “don’t get me wrong, (there are) lovely people and experiences to have in rural areas (like Gympie)”, including mountain biking, fishing and a strong car culture.

Daikaya Laing-Clarke, 19, now lives in Maroochydore. Picture: Supplied

Daikaya left Gympie State High in Year 11 to pursue “old school muscle panelbeating”, and now works in insurance.

He said employment was “probably the biggest problem with Gympie, not a whole range of options and career choices unless you plan to travel out of town.”

Still living in Gympie, Ebonnie Marshall, 25, was born and raised in town, and said there was “a fair bit of work opportunities, (but) not enough rentals for us to apply for”.

Ebonnie Marshall listed rentals as a primary shortcoming for young people in Gympie. Picture: Supplied.

“I personally love going to Playback.”

Ebonnie said it would “be cool for Gympie to have a rock climbing centre, and just other options for us.”

The exodus of Gympie region residents to pursue studies and careers has formed a skills gap in a high-demand time, with projects such as the Borumba pumped hydro and Woolooga battery energy storage facility in the pipeline.

While engineering, technical management and advanced trade experts are needed for large-scale projects, tertiary education in the region does not offer qualifications of that nature.

Although the region is seeking highly-qualified workers, pursuing those prerequisite degrees means leaving town, so project managers turn to external workforces.

In the Economic Development Strategy 2025-2029, Gympie Regional Council prioritised a “jobs plan” to identify workforce needs in promoting the region as a “work-life location” for skilled tradespeople and professionals where “skills gaps exist”.

Upskilling young Gympie residents was a strategy focus, including “working with TAFE Queensland, UniSC and registered training organisations to identify and offer” more direct pathways to work.

The effectiveness of holding onto more skilled Gympie youth as part of the four-year strategy remains to be seen.

Originally published as Why Gympie is losing its young workers just when it needs them most