Banksia Orange hosts big Regions Rising event on Thursday

New hot spot Banksia Orange hosted Regions Rising, a national flagship event of the Regional Australia Institute (RAI) on Thursday, November 16.

One of the keynote speakers was Loam Bio's co-founder and head of global agronomy, Guy Webb - a champion of country-based working and living.

"I asked some of the people who have moved here from businesses overseas and so on, what they thought of Orange and why they accepted a job in a regional area," Mr Webb said.

"The first answer I got was 'because of the supply of wine', which was a really good answer, but they all identified great schools, a really beautiful place to be, and how friendly the people are.

"It's just a great place to live and raise kids."

Focused on growing the workforce, the latest RAI report was launched in a sea of Orange and surrounding leaders, including panel sessions from experts in their fields.

RAI CEO, Liz Ritchie talked about a human-centered approach being necessary to make way for more regional opportunities to overcome employment barriers and create better workforce connections.

Referring to the report Against the Odds: Realising Regional Australia's Workforce Potential, Ms Ritchie referenced six key demographics surveyed.

These were: young people (15 to 24 years), people over 55 years, migrants born overseas with low English skills, people with dependent children, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and people with a disability.

Of these half dozen groups, research shows those in three of the key areas outperformed labour force participation rates in regional Australia, compared to their metropolitan counterparts.

The outranking groups were young people, those with low English proficiency and people with dependant children - despite growing challenges that come with living in non-city settings.

"Well-known long-term physical and social infrastructure deficits, including access to childcare and local education, represent some of the greatest hurdles faced by regional Australians in participating in the local workforce," Ms Ritchie said.

"By changing the way we think and shifting our gaze, we could further strengthen those participation rates to include the more than 50,000 people within these demographic groups who reported a desire to be in the workforce."

In order to fill more than 91,000 jobs currently up for grabs across regional areas, among those analysed choices is to strengthen the local economy by investing more in these particular groups.

These suggestions are to trial a 'gap year connector' program for young people, extend the aged pension work bonus measures, and support local migrant resettlement strategies.

Which is why the CEO unveiled the company's 10-year Regionalisation Ambition 2032 first progress report and what it means for the state.

The plan can now provide government, industry and regional leaders with the report's insights into the unique settings facing this part of regional Australia.

RAI places 20 targets to strengthen non-metro space, ultimately closing the gap between life in the city versus living in the country - particularly on issues around housing, education, health and childcare.

"Governments can support regional communities by implementing policies that address structural barriers to participation," Ms Ritchie said.

"We need to acknowledge our regional communities' innovative, localised strategies have resulted in sophisticated outcomes, but there are still many broken links in the chain.

"While tight labour markets have emerged recently in Australia's capital cities, regional Australia has been challenged by increasing workforce shortages for some time.

"This report confirms that regional labour market systems are [in fact] sophisticated, showing high levels of collaboration and creative approaches to help fill roles in regions.

"And partnering with those communities to support local initiatives that create genuine, place-based change."

Keynote speakers included:

The Liveability Panel included:

The Jobs and Skills Panel included:

The Sustainability and Resilience Panel included:

Regions Rising National Series Partners for RAI are Elders and the National Broadband Network (NBN), with the RAI Regions Rising NSW event partner, Inland Rail.

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