Industry, business and government representatives came together in late 2024 to brainstorm ideas to help regional schools better prepare students for employment.
The Bundaberg Youth Roundtable aimed to determine the skills most desired by employers and identify future workforce needs, to ensure the vocational learning curriculum was meeting industry requirements.
The discussion was facilitated by Regional Business HQ for Bundaberg Regional Council, as part of Council’s Bundaberg Jobs Commitment initiative, and Queensland Department of Education as part of their innovative Bundaberg Education Precinct Pilot.
Bundaberg Region Mayor Helen Blackburn said the roundtable captured important information that would provide local insights and priorities for the Department of Education.
“The discussion gave industry professionals the chance to influence the real world skills students are taught through vocational and work study programs,” Mayor Blackburn said.
“The Bundaberg Region’s population growth, and the percentage of our population nearing retirement age, highlights an increasing demand for the next generation of skilled workers to join the regional workforce.
“The opportunity to provide this input will create many positives, not only for our educators and students, but also for the industry that will benefit as a result of this work being implemented locally.”
A cross-section of industry and business attended the workshop, which included structured breakout sessions to ensure every voice was heard.
From the information collated across the day, the group identified ten key attributes and skills valued most by potential employers, including reliability, communication skills and problem solving ability.
Technical skills, a willingness to learn, adaptability and being self-motivated were also pinpointed as desirable attributes in a prospective employee.
Personal presentation, teamwork and collaboration, and accountability rounded out the top ten attributes employers were looking for in young people joining the workforce.
The Bundaberg Jobs Commitment is a Bundaberg Regional Council initiative connecting employers with young people, to inspire and assist students making decisions for life after they leave school.
To learn more about the Bundaberg Jobs Commitment, visit the project page, and subscribe to receive updates.
What we are really down on is small business owners. As many of them retired early after making there money to refill places like the arcades. There is more incentives to help small business get going these days including
Back to work funding grants https://www.business.qld.gov.au/running-business/employing/hiring-recruitment/back-to-work
NEIS business assistance & training https://www.dewr.gov.au/new-business-assistance-neis/neis-training-support-and-payments
Sometimes there’s also time limited grants available on to of these.
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As for other work:
Matching with what our growing industries are would also help https://economy.id.com.au/bundaberg/employment-by-industry?sEndYear=2020
Note this list is a heading list clicking on each industry will provide some further break down inside of the industry.
We need places to live & motels built there’s also a shopping prescient at Kepnock that has expansion in mind, New hospital & master plans on the agenda. There’s a huge amount more that has been green lit by council already in private construction. It’s clear that construction has a extremely bright future in Bundaberg. Hervey Bay has similar plans & could also use with the boost.
There will be even more added to this in time.
Why not put alot of our youth into Construction to super charge our progress? Through your support behind our now second largest industry.
If the LNP gets in put Bundabergs hand up for a Nuclear power plant think of the jobs. I bet they’d pay excellent to work at the power plant.
This should help:
1. Ask inside your circle of family & friends first. This can be as simple as posting you are looking for work on your own facebook page. Make it viewable to everyone so it can be shared.
2. Do Canvasing either in person or through mail & email. Most jobs are not advertised. (stated by agencies to be around 80% not advertised)
3. Do not reduce your job-searches below 10/fortnight with “points” remember unadvertised jobs count so you can put down Canvasing. I do double this myself.
4. Do not stop looking for work even if you are working full time & or not receiving Centrelink payments. It’s acceptable to turn down a job if you already have one that is better. Stopping looking means your resumes that have been sent out could be over 3 months old & would likely have been thrown out.
5. It’s easier to get work once you have a job as it shows someone else was willing to hire you.
6. Think outside of your immediate experience & conform zone. The job you land today might not be the perfect position for you but it helps expand your connections & helps pay for things.
Go straight to the top… Email your resumes directly to members of the Bundaberg chamber of Commerce. Many of them have there email listed right here https://www.bundabergchamber.com.au/member-directory/
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Also switch your JSA if you don’t find the one you are with helpful it’s quite easy. None of this long term unemployment. If your JSA has not successfully got you into work in 6 months they are not doing a very good job. Swap networks and meet new people.
I feel it should be our responsibility as a region to help create both business success & jobs. That we should shop local in a store don’t buy from the internet unless you have to, take a holiday at home, see the local tourist attractions first before expanding including booking into a local motel, dine out or order takeaway a reasonable amount, join a gym, treat our sleeves to services like laser clinic use, massages/beauty therapy, buy more expensive possessions, renovate our homes to increase there value using local trades people.
If those of us who can afford to spend more did it would help create the jobs that we need into the future. Remember the internet shop dose not hire you or your kids.
Almost all the advertised jobs are on JORA look there.
There should be agriculture jobs available as backpacker numbers are still down from COVID.
There should be jobs at NBN helping upgrade to Fibre to the home.
Teachers are under supplied across the Country.
We could start a Fly in Fly out mining service.
Food Delivery is growing through Door Dash & similar.
Bundaberg is always in need of more Taxi drivers.
Construction should need workers with all the building projects.
We are short on professional lawn care services (mowing)
Health care & Social Assistance is growing at a Rapid rate
Hospitality is growing at a Rapid rate
Retail likely could grow with additional shops that we don’t current have.
There’s decent growth in Manufacturing
Electricity, Gas, Water and Waste Services
Warehouse & Postal transport is growing abit
Building cleaning & Post cotrol is growing
Finance & Insurance is growing
Sports & recreation activities is growing
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Works looking real good at the moment. It’s likely about getting your name out there so you can start getting training & experience.
Fill Kepnock Town Center & the surrounding shopping prescient it would help. Retail could have hundreds maybe even thousands of un tapped jobs if we got that going.
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Try doing something out of the box to boost your chances what I usto do was print menus I developed for the restaurants I worked at and put them in peoples mail boxes.
How about some of you make a local property/ business investment company. A LLC to pool assets. Join the business & home development effort.
This influx of new residents post COVID appear to be opening up all sorts of Businesses to add to opportunity. They should also be putting more demand on existing businesses as well. I’m already getting heaps more work & it should continue to increase.
Is there a way we can turn this AI & Crypto thing into jobs for the kids? Sounds like alot of money is being spent on it. IT is a poor employer in our region but that could change?
Some of you should really think about opening business as well. Rent in a arcade is really cheap.
@Jim Stweart With the release of twitch, E-sports & ray-tracing you’d think there would be demand for PC repair & PC upgrade shops. Perhaps internet cafes as well with upgraded gaming/streaming capable PCs?
Lukey PC Repairs has a huge building maybe they might need staff? Maybe we could get a Umart?
There’s a large tax break for video game development in Australia. If someone wants to start a game development company https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/income-deductions-and-concessions/income-and-deductions-for-business/concessions-offsets-and-rebates/digital-games-tax-offset
There’s also a number of established companies in Australia already if you are willing to travel.