7. Address skills and labour shortages
Councils and communities across NSW are suffering from the impacts of skills and labour shortages, which slow economic recovery and hamper productivity.
Demand for skills and labour often exceeds supply, driving up costs and delaying investment. Where councils are not able to attract and retain appropriately skilled workers, they struggle to deliver the range and level of services their communities expect.
All spheres of government need to work together to improve training pathways and address skills and labour shortages for the benefit of councils, communities and businesses right across NSW.
LGNSW is calling on the NSW and Australian Governments to:
- Invest in initiatives to attract and retain skilled labour to local government.
- Invest in training to support para-professional, trades and entry-level pathways to employment in local government and to upskill councils’ workforces in response to new and emerging jobs and work.
- Increase para-professional pathways in areas of skills shortage and establish better articulation between VET and tertiary qualifications.
- Improve access to professional and skilled staff for local government and address difficulties meeting Continuing Professional Development requirements, particularly in rural and regional areas.
- Drive local economic recovery through initiatives to address labour shortages impacting primary producers, businesses and councils across NSW.
- Ensure regional and rural communities have equitable access to VET and tertiary courses and educational institutions.