Jobs and Skills for Regional SA - Limestone Coast

Consultation has concluded


About




This engagement is now closed.

In response to the engagement feedback, the Department for Industry and Skills (formerly Department of State Development) is investing $1.5 million in new skills, training and employment initiatives to be implemented in 2017-18. Click here to read more.


About

The Department of State Development needs your help to better understand and respond to industry demand and individual need for skills and jobs in regional South Australia.

What is being decided?

The Skills and Employment Division of the Department of State Development is undertaking a comprehensive engagement approach to better understand and respond effectively


About




This engagement is now closed.

In response to the engagement feedback, the Department for Industry and Skills (formerly Department of State Development) is investing $1.5 million in new skills, training and employment initiatives to be implemented in 2017-18. Click here to read more.


About

The Department of State Development needs your help to better understand and respond to industry demand and individual need for skills and jobs in regional South Australia.

What is being decided?

The Skills and Employment Division of the Department of State Development is undertaking a comprehensive engagement approach to better understand and respond effectively and appropriately to industry demand and individual needs in relation to skills, training and employment in non-metropolitan South Australia.

We will collaborate with a broad range of local stakeholders and communities to develop tailored responses for skills, training and employment challenges and opportunities.

We want people in regions to have access to training, skill development and employment opportunities tailored to their needs. Equally, we want businesses to be able to recruit people who are work ready, with the skills needed for the jobs of today and tomorrow. We want to provide tailored initiatives which meet demand and deliver improved outcomes for individuals, employers and communities.

How can your input influence the decision?

Involving local people and experts in understanding challenges and opportunities, as well as developing tailored responses in each region, will enable the community and stakeholders to own and drive solutions.

This regional engagement project provides the opportunity for new voices and new perspectives to be heard by collaborating with a broad range of local stakeholders.

We will:

  • build on local knowledge to understand industry demand and individual need in relation to skills, training and employment in each non-metropolitan region.
  • consult, involve and collaborate with a broad range of local stakeholders and communities to develop tailored responses to address skills, training and employment challenges and take advantage of new opportunities.
  • develop a Skills and Workforce Development Plan for each region, with short, medium and long term goals and strategies.

Key milestones

The engagement process for Jobs and Skills in Regional SA will include:

  • initial engagement to identify need and demand: June – August 2017
  • the development of tailored responses with stakeholders: September – October 2017
  • co-delivery of actions and implementation of responses: from early 2018

To find out more about the engagement process, please download the fact sheet (PDF 205KB)

Get involved

If you live or work in the Limestone Coast region, we want to know more about the local challenges and opportunities in relation to skills, training and employment.

To provide your feedback on a different region in SA, click through below:

You can provide your ideas, suggestions and feedback by:

Join our mailing list so we can keep you informed of progress with Jobs and Skills for Regional SA and engagement opportunities in your local area.

How will your input be used?

By helping us to better understand the needs of the different kinds of job seekers and businesses in regional SA you can assist us to design and implement appropriate and effective responses to meet those needs and achieve better outcomes.

This project will focus on skills, training and employment as the priority, but there will be a process (using the Joined Up Policy Guide PDF 3MB) to ensure additional issues that impact on skills and jobs are actively pursued with other areas of Government.

A report summarising community and stakeholder input to the Jobs and Skills for Regional SA project will be published in December 2017.

Each non-metropolitan region will prepare a Skills and Workforce Development Plan in collaboration with stakeholders to identify short, medium and long-term goals and strategies. Your feedback will directly influence the development of these plans.

These plans will drive the implementation of strategies for skills, training and employment initiatives in regional South Australia from January 2018.

To be kept informed, please join our mailing list so we can provide you with updates on the Jobs and Skills for Regional SA project throughout 2017.



Background


Regions In Focus: Limestone Coast

(Source: http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/regions)


Regional Overview

The Limestone Coast region comprises seven local Councils (City of Mount Gambier, District Council of Grant, Kingston District Council, Naracoorte-Lucindale Council, District Council of Robe, Tatiara District Council and Wattle Range Council) and has a population of over 64,000 people. Spanning over 21,000 square kilometres, this region is commonly referred by South Australians simply as the ‘South East’.

The economy of the Limestone Coast capitalises on the region’s soil and significant ground water resources. The availability of predictable and stable water supplies places this region at a growing competitive advantage for horticulture and broad acre farming investment in comparison to other regions in rural South Australia. These natural resources have led to a strong economic activity derived from broad acre farming, horticulture, viticulture and forestry industries.

Primary production from the land is complemented by a manufacturing base that employs a greater proportion of workers than across South Australia generally. In addition, the region boasts a significant fishing industry focussing on rock lobster. The Limestone Coast region contributes approximately 17 percent of South Australia’s Gross State Product.

Although there are pockets of long-term unemployment, a major labour market issue for the region is the attraction and retention of the skills needed for existing businesses and for future investments.

The unemployment rate in the region has fallen from 5.8 percent in March 2016 to 4.3 percent in March 2017. Regional variation however has the upper Limestone Coast experiencing lower unemployment and the lower Limestone Coast experiencing higher unemployment.

While the regional economy and population is not experiencing strong growth, the diversity of the economic base is reported to have created a robust economy that is a firm foundation for new opportunities.

Download the Literature Review - Limestone Coast Region (PDF 300KB).

Limestone Coast (State Government Region)

The Department of State Development is implementing two strategic directions to respond to the challenges of economic change by:

  • Better understanding the demand and need in relation to skills, training and employment in regional SA.
  • Tailoring skills and employment investment to respond to local demand and need.

Population overview

The population of the Limestone Coast region (65,000) people represents 3.8 per cent of South Australia's population, and the rate of population growth is 0.5 per cent, lower than the growth rate of the State population.

Compared to South Australia, the Limestone Coast region has higher shares of people aged 0 to 14 years, and aged 45 and older; with a lower share of people aged 15 to 44 years.

In the December quarter 2016 there were 1,567 unemployed people in the Limestone Coast region, with an estimated unemployment rate of 4.4 per cent, significantly lower than the South Australian rate of 6.8 per cent.

Residents of the Limestone Coast region have lower levels of school achievement compared to South Australia. In the Limestone Coast region, 39.5 per cent of the population aged 15 to 64 years have completed year 12 (or equivalent), compared to 54.2 per cent in South Australia.

Further reading

To find out more about the engagement process planned for the Jobs and Skills for Regional SA project, please download the Skills and Employment Division Engagement Plan (PDF 345KB)

Consultation has concluded

  • What you said


    For stakeholders who would like to facilitate a conversation with a third party (clients, program participants, job seekers, etc) on behalf of DSD, please download this Record of Discussion Template (DOC 230KB) to record your conversation and email the completed form to DSD.EngageRegions@sa.gov.au.

    Alternatively, please encourage people in your network to complete one of the online surveys below, or download a printable version to complete as a paper survey.

  • Key References


    Traineeships and Apprenticeships

    As part of the Skills for Future Jobs 2020 Series, the Training and Skills Commission has commenced a review of traineeships and apprenticeships in South Australia. The impact of changes to our economy on the nature of traineeships and apprenticeships in regions is an area that the Commission will be considering as part of this policy work.

    As part of the Skills for Future Jobs 2020 Series, in 2018 the Training and Skills Commission will be delivering its second report on South Australia’s Industry Priority Qualifications (IPQ). It is anticipated that this iteration of the IPQ report will attract a higher number of regional responses and therefore provide a more comprehensive view of industry priority qualifications in specific regions.

    The Commission encourages individuals and organisations to register and participate in an ongoing conversation on these important policy topics. Register your interest at 2020.tasc.sa.gov.au

    Further reading

    Productivity Commission Initial Report – Transitioning Regional Economies

    The Federal Government has requested the Productivity Commission undertake a study into the geographic impacts of the transition of the Australian economy following the resources investment boom.

    The purpose of this study is to examine the regional geography of Australia's economic transition, to identify those regions and localities that face significant challenges in successfully transitioning to a more sustainable economic base and the factors, which will influence their capacity to adapt to changes in economic circumstances.

    The Productivity Commission Initial Report states:

    • There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach that will promote successful adaptation in all regions.
    • Strategies for successful adaptation and development are those that focus on supporting people in regional communities to adjust to changing economic circumstances.
    • Strategies work best when they are:
      • identified and led by the local community, in partnership with all levels of government
      • aligned with the region’s relative strengths
      • supported by targeted investment in developing the capability of the people in the local community to deal with transition, adaptation, and securing an economic future
      • designed with clear objectives and measurable performance indicators and subject to rigorous evaluation.

    View the interim report in full: pc.gov.au/inquiries/current/transitioning-regions/initial

    OECD Conceptual Framework - Understanding Skills for Competitiveness

    The OECD has observed that to be successful in today's knowledge economy, communities need to boost not only the skills of local people but also the utilisation and deployment of these skills by employers. By making sure that skills are utilised effectively, local economies can become more competitive and host better quality and better paid jobs. It is at the local level that collaborative approaches can be taken to not only boost skills levels but also attract and retain talent; better integrate people into the labour market and better match skills supply and demand.

    The OECD Conceptual Framework will be used as a guide for the Jobs and Skills for Regional SA project to better understand the relationship between skills demand and skills supply at a regional level. This framework shows regional areas categorised as one of four types:

    • A low skills equilibrium – a situation of low supply of and low demand for skills
    • Skills gaps and shortages – a situation of low supply and high demand for skills
    • A skills surplus – a situation of high supply and low demand for skills
    • A high skills equilibrium – a situation of high supply and high demand for skills

    Applied to any given region, each type represents an ‘average’ condition, which might conceal much more varied conditions in different industries or in regional centres. In developing policy and program responses we will develop a more detailed and nuanced understanding of local labour market conditions and dynamics, through the comprehensive engagement process.

    Download Skills for Competitiveness, Country Report for the United Kingdom (PDF)

    Download Engaging Employers in Skills Development for the 21st Century - Sylvain Giguère

  • Updates

    $1.5 million for skills and jobs projects in the state’s regions

    The Department for Industry and Skills (formerly Department of State Development) is investing $1.5 million in new skills, training and employment initiatives to be implemented in 2017-18.

    The funding is the initial response to comprehensive engagement with regional stakeholders in 2017 to better understand the demand and need for jobs and skills in the seven non-metropolitan regions – the Adelaide Hills, Fleurieu and Kangaroo Island; Barossa, Light and Lower North; Eyre and Western; Far North; Limestone Coast; Yorke and Mid North; and Murraylands and Riverland.

    New projects will provide training, skills development and employment opportunities to enable people, businesses and communities to reach their full potential and thrive.

    These projects, tailored to the unique needs of each region, will provide language, literacy and numeracy support; employability and work readiness skills; more enrolments in vocational education and training; and local jobs for local people.

    2017-18 Projects

    Funded projects across all regions include:

    • Employment case management for mature aged job seekers in the Adelaide Hills
    • Pathways to Participation to strengthen the employability and work readiness skills of long-term unemployed job seekers in the Fleurieu and on Kangaroo Island
    • Barossa Jobs Training package to develop transferable employability skills, in young unemployed people, that meet needs of key industries in the region
    • Youth Trade Mentoring in Eyre and Western to assist young people to access, and remain in, trade based pathways that lead to Training Contracts or employment in the region
    • Tailored Adult Community Education (ACE) projects in the Far North to support the development of foundation skills in the community
    • Building Family Opportunities in the Limestone Coast to assist long-term jobless families into employment
    • Aboriginal Learning on Country in the Murraylands to train Aboriginal people for traineeships in conservation land management
    • Jobs 4 Riverland to provide employment pathways in the agriculture and horticulture sectors for local unemployed jobseekers
    • Agriculture Sector – Workforce Attraction in the Yorke and Mid North to attract people into the industry and work with farmers to better position and promote themselves to ensure sector stability for the future

    For further information about the projects being funded in the Limestone Coast region, download the 2017-18 Initial Responses to Regional Engagement.