BETTER CONNECTIONS

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BETTER CONNECTIONS BETTER OUTCOMES
IMPROVING LABOUR MARKET EFFECTIVENESS Murraylands
Employment Service Area 26 March 2008
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Origins of the workshops

• DEEWR undertakes a range of research and
  analysis of labour supply and skill shortages
• DEEWR, with other Government agencies, is
  looking at how to address Australias labour
  supply and skill shortages
• Run a series of workshops to share information
  and ideas

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Objective of the workshops

• Improve Labour Market Effectiveness by
• addressing labour supply and skill shortage
  issues
• increasing labour market participation
  (disadvantaged groups mature aged, parents,
  people with a disability, Indigenous Australians,
  long-term unemployed, people from culturally and
  linguistically diverse backgrounds, youth)
• establishing and further developing linkages
  between relevant organisations

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Agenda

• Welcome and Introductions
• Better Connections Presentation
• The Current Reality and Future Directions of the
  Murraylands Labour Market
• Identification of Main Themes and Issues
• Developing a Local Action Plan
• Summary of Action Plans
• Lunch
• Developing a Regional Strategy
• Prioritisation of Strategies
• Cross Regional and Strategic Partnerships
• Drawing it Together
• Closing Remarks

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MURRAYLANDS Employment Service Area
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Murraylands Demographic Profile

• Working Age Population (15-64) 21 160
• older population
• 36.5 of the working age population is aged 55
  compared with 32.7 in SA and 29.7 in Australia
• Unemployment rate 5.1 (September 07)
• Higher proportion receiving Centrelink allowance
  compared with the State
• Indigenous unemployment rate 11.9

Source ABS 2006 Census / Centrelink
Administrative data, September 2007
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Murraylands ESA Employment Profile

Source ABS 2006 Census
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Murraylands ESA Survey of Employers Recruitment
Experiences

• 201 employers, concentrated in 5 key industries.
• 47 per cent of employers surveyed had
  attempted to recruit in the past 12 months.
• 10 per cent of vacancies were not filled
• 19 per cent of recruiting employers reported one
  or more unfilled vacancies.
• 52 per cent of recruiting employers reported
  difficulty filling vacancies.

Source DEEWR, Murraylands Survey of Employers
Recruitment Experiences, February 2008
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Murraylands ESA Success filling most recent
vacancy

Source DEEWR, Murraylands Survey of Employers
Recruitment Experiences, February 2008
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Murraylands ESA Competition for recent vacancies

Source DEEWR, Murraylands Survey of Employers
Recruitment Experiences, February 2008
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Murraylands ESA Reasons applicants were
unsuitable

Source DEEWR, Murraylands Survey of Employers
Recruitment Experiences, February 2008
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Murraylands ESA Difficult to fill occupations
Higher skilled occupations Motor
Mechanics Registered Nurses Chefs Building and
Construction Managers Physiotherapists Carpentry
and Joinery Tradespersons Medium and lower
skilled occupations Sales Assistants General
Clerks Mobile Construction Plant
Operators Forklift and Truck Drivers Elementary
Food Preparation Workers

Source DEEWR, Murraylands Survey of Employers
Recruitment Experiences, February 2008
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Murraylands ESA Recruitment Expectations

• 37 per cent of employers expect to recruit in the
  next 12 months.
• 69 per cent of employers who expect to recruit
  anticipate employment growth over the next 12
  months.
• 44 per cent of employers who expect to recruit
  anticipate difficulty.
• 44 per cent of employers who expect to recruit
  would provide development opportunities.

Source DEEWR, Murraylands Survey of Employers
Recruitment Experiences, February 2008
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Murraylands ESA JNM and JPO Activity

• Opportunities for employment service providers to
  work more closely with businesses in the area.
• Labouring vacancies accounted for 62 per cent of
  vacancies lodged with JNMs and JPOs.
• Across all occupations, 46.4 per cent of the
  vacancies were filled, which is lower than the
  state average
• Opportunities for JNMs /JPOs to increase take up
  of apprenticeships and traineeships, across a
  range of occupations

Source DEEWR, Murraylands Survey of Employers
Recruitment Experiences, February
2008 Administrative Data, 12 months to December
2007
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Murraylands ESA Centrelink and Job Network
Customer Populations

Source Centrelink and DEEWR Administrative Data,
December 2007
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Useful Links

• www.workplace.gov.au/bcw
• www.workplace.gov.au/regionalreports
• www.workplace.gov.au/lmip
• www.skillsinfo.gov.au
• www.jobsearch.gov.au

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Murraylands ESA Summary

• Labour market has strengthened
• Strong employment growth in several industries,
  in particular, Health and Community Services
• Employers are experiencing difficulty in a wide
  range of occupations
• These difficulties are exacerbated by an ageing
  population
• The area has a high proportion in receipt of
  Cenrelink payments
• Increase suitability of job seekers
• Consider Apprenticeships and Traineeships

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Activities under way/Skills Committee info

• As part of the State Governments 29.5 million
  Trade Schools for the Future initiative, Murray
  Bridge High School will be one of ten SA schools
  to offer apprenticeships to high school students
  from 2008.
• TR Pastoral is seeking 300 workers for its
  Murray Bridge abattoir as the company moves to a
  seven-day week operation
• A 250 million residential development is planned
  for Mannum, including 570 allotments and a new
  150-berth marina

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Possible issues for consideration

• Youth, Mature Age, Indigenous, Migrants,
  Disability and Strategic
• How can employment service providers make better
  linkages and increase the placement of job
  seekers into Australian Apprenticeships?
• How do Employers and Employment Service Providers
  work more effectively together to address skills
  and labour shortages?

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Developing a local action plan

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Afternoon Agenda

• Developing an Integrated Action Plan
• Prioritisation of Strategies
• Cross Regional and Strategic Partnerships
• Drawing it together

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Evaluation strategy

• Workshop evaluation to be filled out today
• Follow up survey of participants to assess
  specific actions/strategies undertaken
• Longer term data analysis to assess measurable
  items and analysis of qualitative information
  relating directly to each workshop

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Finish

• More information
• www.workplace.gov.au/bcw
• www.workplace.gov.au/regionalreports
• www.workplace.gov.au/lmip