The Department of Employment, Small Business and Training is to work with industry and the community to come up with innovative solutions for dealing with the challenges facing the State’s workforce.
It will host the Queensland Workforce Summit on 11 March.
Minister for Employment and Small Business and Minister for Training and Skills Development, Di Farmer said a strong workforce was vital to rebuilding Queensland’s economy.
“Significant workforce challenges that affected businesses throughout Australia even before the pandemic continue to have an impact here in Queensland,” Ms Farmer said.
“It is being felt in every sector and in every region,” she said.
“In fact, in some sectors, we’re creating more jobs than we have Queenslanders to fill them.”
Ms Farmer said the Summit would focus on cooperatively planning the next phase of Queensland’s economic recovery.
“Prior to the Omicron outbreak, labour shortages were already being identified by businesses small and large across the country as the biggest challenge they faced,” she said.
“We have a perfect storm of circumstances affecting the labour market right now, with international borders largely closed to this point, and the lowest unemployment rate in more than 13 years.”
The Minister said there was a need to come up with “out-of-the box solutions, which is why we’re bringing together the best and brightest minds for the Summit”.
“This will help us stay ahead of the other States and Territories, continuing to show Queensland is a great place to work and live,” she said.
The Summit will be part of the State’s Big Plans for Small Business Strategy 2021-2023, released in June, to help small business recover, grow and thrive.
Further information on the Summit can be accessed at this PS News link.
