GSEM calls for tailored Jobs and Skills Plan

Download the GSEM Skills and Employment report.

The State Government is being urged to help create a tailored Jobs and Skills Plan for Melbourne’s southeast to ensure the region has the right mix of skills to ensure jobs for residents into the future.

The call, by Greater South East Melbourne, comes as a new report reveals that parts of the region have significant gaps in skills, jobs and education levels.

Greater South East Melbourne Chair Simon McKeon said: “The future prosperity of our residents depends on a skilled and adaptive workforce that is future focussed and responsive to the changing nature of work.”

“GSEM welcomes the strong focus by the state and federal governments on skills and jobs. That is why we urge governments to help us more clearly identify the issues and design the most appropriate solutions to the skills and jobs issues in the southeast.”

“Training designed to provide the skills of the future is crucial for the prosperity of the region and its residents.”

The new report – Greater South East Melbourne Skills and Employment Analysis by SGS Economics and Planning – found that the southeast:

·       has significantly higher long-term unemployment than the Melbourne average

·       concerning rates of female unemployment

·       declining workforces in the region’s top two industries

·       a high proportion of workers who are significantly overqualified for their jobs, and

·       lower rates of education.

Mr McKeon said: “Increased workforce participation and access to relevant skills across the GSEM region will increase productivity, as well as address problems associated with social disadvantage.”

“We have a unique opportunity to help guarantee the future prosperity of the 1.5 million residents of the southeast by creating a properly researched and developed plan that provides the education and training our workers need for the high-quality, high-rewards jobs of the future.”

Fred Harrison, Chief Executive Officer of Ritchies Stores, which has its headquarters in Carrum Downs in the GSEM region and employs about 6,000 people, said: “The Greater South East Melbourne region has untapped potential.  It has almost one-third of Melbourne’s population but only about 25 per cent of the jobs.

“It is concerning that male, female, and youth unemployment rates have been higher in the GSEM region than the Greater Melbourne average, particularly for Greater Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia.”

What the Greater South East Melbourne Skills and Employment Analysis by SGS Economics and Planning report found:

·       For the past decade, unemployment rates have been significantly higher in parts of the southeast than the metropolitan average.

·       The Greater South East Melbourne region has almost one-third of Melbourne’s population but only about 25 per cent the jobs, the report found.

·       Male, female, and youth unemployment rates have been higher in the GSEM region than the Greater Melbourne average, particularly for Greater Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia.

Low female workforce participation in the region is concerning.

·       Women in the South-East SA4 have a much higher unemployment rate than Greater Melbourne; averaging 7.0 per cent over the year to June 2022 relative to 4.9 per cent for Greater Melbourne.

·       A lack of local jobs may be a key barrier to female participation in the region – Casey and Cardinia have noticeably lower local jobs per working resident than the Greater Melbourne average.

·       The top four industry specialisations (manufacturing, construction, wholesale trade and agriculture, forestry, and fishing) within GSEM are traditionally high male employing industries.

·       Two of the industries which GSEM specialises in (manufacturing and wholesale trade) declined in workforce size from 2011 to 2016. The decline was faster in GSEM than in Greater Melbourne.

·       Employment in knowledge-intensive business services, as well as rates of tertiary education attainment has been historically low relative to metropolitan Melbourne.

GSEM has a significant proportion of workers who are overqualified for the jobs they hold.

Within inner Melbourne, the proportion of overqualified workers is between 0 and around 30 per cent, while in pockets of the GSEM LGAs (especially around Kingston, Greater Dandenong and Casey), upwards of 50 per cent of workers are overqualified for their job.

This suggests limited high-skilled job opportunities in pockets of the GSEM region, and inability to match worker skillset with suitable employment opportunities. Such an outcome impacts productivity as workers are unable to deploy their full skillset, the report said.

Cardinia, Casey, Frankston, and Greater Dandenong have a very low concentration of professional workers and managers, but a very high concentration of trade workers, labourers and machinery operators and drivers, the report said.

Compared with the greater Melbourne average, there is a low share of residents within the Cardinia, Casey, Frankston, and Greater Dandenong LGAs with bachelor’s degrees. A high proportion of residents did not complete school, the report found.

Greater South East Melbourne Chair Simon McKeon said: “Collaboration and investment across all levels of government can deliver collective impact to support our growing region and ensure ongoing low unemployment and increased workforce participation for women, CALD communities and young people.

“A regional Jobs and Skills Plan can focus our collective effort to achieve these objectives”.

“GSEM invites the state government to collaborate with local government and the community in developing and implementing a Jobs and Skills Plan for our region.”

DOWNLOAD the GSEM Jobs and Skills Plan 2022.