Secret to region’s employment growth lies with construction industry

One particular industry provided nearly 10 per cent of jobs in Toowoomba, and now community leaders say investment into these businesses could be the secret to success.

A stakeholder forum in Toowoomba this week revealed the key to tackling the region’s unemployment rate could lie in the hands of our construction industry.

Stakeholders recently gathered in Toowoomba for the Construction Skills Queensland Annual Training Plan Regional Consultation for 2021 where mayor Paul Antonio said continued investment and confidence from private enterprises specifically in the building industry would underpin employment growth.

“The Toowoomba area has seen the largest annual growth in employment across Queensland’s 19 statistical areas in April 2021 with an additional 11,500 people employed, which equates to 18 per cent growth over the year,” Mr Antonio said.

“The state figure was a decrease of 0.1 per cent over the same time.”

The construction industry employed nearly 7,000 locals in 2019/20, which is 8.4% of all jobs in Toowoomba.

TSBE General Manager of Energy and Infrastructure Lance MacManus said it was fantastic for industry to join forces, at a time when the region’s unemployment figures continued to fall.

“It’s important for us to take a step back, review our current construction activities and discuss what the next year or so looks like,” he said.

“We know Toowoomba has an advantage with more people getting back into the workforce which is great to see.”