Big Rivers Report for Regional Australia Institute Alicia Boyle Todd
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Regional skills shortage and learning – Big Rivers Report for Regional Australia Institute Alicia Boyle Todd Denham and Peter Fairbrother February 2019 Centre for People, Organisation and Work The Centre for People, Organisation and Work (CPOW) is an interdisciplinary research centre focused on analysing the impact of economic, political, technological and social change on people and the communities, industries, and regions in which they work. Key research themes include: • Working lives: Uncertainties and Futures • Gender, Equality and Diversity • Political Economy of Socio-Economic Change • Digital Business, Work and Life • Corporate Responsibility and Accountability Webpage: https://www.rmit.edu.au/research/research-institutes-centres-and- groups/research-centres/centre-for-people-organisation-and-work Acknowledgments: The authors would like to thank: Dr Kim Houghton General Manager Policy & Research, Regional Australia Institute Professor Bruce Wilson, RMIT University Associate Professor Lauren Rickards, RMIT University For their advice and support in the development and presentation of this report. Citation: Boyle, A., Denham, T. and Fairbrother, P. (2019) Regional skills shortage and learning – Big Rivers, Centre for People, Organisation and Work, RMIT University. Source: http//:www.xxxxxxxxx February 2019 Table of Contents 1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 7 1.1 Tensions ................................................................................................................. 8 1.2 Questions and Approach......................................................................................... 9 1.3 Methods .................................................................................................................. 9 1.4 Remote education, training and employment pathways .......................................... 9 2 Background ..............................................................................................13 2.1 The Big Rivers Region .......................................................................................... 13 2.1.1 A Remote Region .......................................................................................................... 14 2.1.2 Regional Employment Trends ....................................................................................... 15 2.1.3 Government Strategies, Plans and Interventions ......................................................... 17 2.1.4 Schooling, VET and Higher Education .......................................................................... 19 3 Education .................................................................................................23 3.1 Primary and Secondary School ............................................................................. 23 3.2 Vocational Education and Training ........................................................................ 26 3.3 Higher Education .................................................................................................. 29 3.4 Summary .............................................................................................................. 30 4 Job Futures ..............................................................................................32 4.1 The nature of work and employment ..................................................................... 32 4.2 LMIP Projections ................................................................................................... 35 4.3 Health and Community Services ........................................................................... 36 4.4 Agriculture ............................................................................................................ 37 4.4.1 Horticulture .................................................................................................................... 37 4.4.2 Meat and live animal exports ........................................................................................ 38 4.5 Tourism and Conservation .................................................................................... 39 4.6 Energy and Mining ................................................................................................ 40 4.7 Construction.......................................................................................................... 41 4.8 New ways of working together .............................................................................. 42 4.9 Summary .............................................................................................................. 45 5 Assessment ..............................................................................................47 5.1 Industry and training relationships ......................................................................... 47 5.1.1 Secondary, VET and higher education ......................................................................... 47 5.1.2 Industry, education and training providers, and the prospective workforce .................. 48 5.2 Innovative interventions ........................................................................................ 49 5.3 Future skills and capability needs ......................................................................... 49 6 Conclusion and recommendations .........................................................51 6.1 Concluding remarks .............................................................................................. 51 6.2 Recommendations ................................................................................................ 53 1 Introduction This project comprises a detailed examination of learning pathways into the emerging employment opportunities in a disadvantaged and remote part of Australia, the Big Rivers Region in Northern Territory. In doing so, it tackles the complex relationship between learning and skills shortages. By identifying the drivers and conditions for success, it provides not only understandings about the area under study, it will stimulate study elsewhere. The overall aim is to provide an empirically informed basis for developing policy. The challenge with the Big Rivers Region is to establish pathways for residents to access the emerging employment opportunities in the industry growth sectors. The framework for analysis rests on three inter-related pillars. First, the region is remote. According to the RAI typology, Heartland Regions are smaller regional areas that are not close to other major metropolitan or Regional Cities. Industry trends and local ingenuity will shape their future (Regional Australia Institute 2014). These are areas where addressing the challenges of inequality appear intractable and often there is a deficit of professionals, providing services and support (Regional Australia Institute 2018). Second, the focus rests on the articulation of a political economy of skills and training. As indicated elsewhere, aligning skill supply with skill demand requires proactive and innovative education and training practices. In general, to secure a comprehensive and sustainable program, it is desirable to involve a wide range of actors, such as employers, industry associations and unions. Complementing this dimension, it is necessary to address job availability, which will involve regional development actors and agencies assisting with regeneration and job stimulus. This more inclusive, systemic approach to targeted skills development rests on monitoring and forecasting labour market trends, particularly the need for replacement workers, as well as how skills are being used and sourced (for ellaboration of the conceptual base, see Payne 2008). Third, the aim is to lay the foundation for assessing experiments in relation to skills and learning in one region. The idea of experimentation has its roots in attempts to understand what is happening in a world that appears to be fragmented, changing relatively quickly and where these changes affect how people experience their work, participate in their communities and live their lives. Technological transformations, 7 changes in the role of the state, the recasting of company boundaries, the growth of global production networks, the transition to sustainable development, and shifts in identity, solidarity and values are all transforming work. One danger is the emergence of disjointed communities. These reflections draw attention to the ways plans for social and economic development and transition are formulated, the ways they are implemented and their outcomes. One approach is to consider experimentation, where processes and procedures that when implemented may lead to change and development. These measures are the subject of an emerging debate. They may involve the recombination of rules and modes of governance (Crouch 2005); a recognition of the importance of policy and entrepreneurship (Campbell 2004); and significantly, the co-constitution of institutions and actors, where actors draw on institutional legacies to innovate and regulate ways forward (Kristensen & Morgan 2012; see also Stone 2017 for examples of such experimentation). 1.1 Tensions This project is a case study of the Big Rivers region in Northern Territory. The entire region is classified as Very Remote in the ABS (2016a) Remoteness Structure, which is based on road distances from service centres adjusted for population size (see also Hugo Centre for Migration and Population Research