Employment has become an even bigger issue since coronavirus has impacted on the local market. So as far as the future of employment in our region goes, what do we need to do?

A new project looking at how we solve regional employment issues is calling for submissions to help inform the North Coast Employment Strategy 2020-2025.

The project is a collaboration between Regional Development Australia Northern Rivers (RDANR) and Regional Development Australia Mid North Coast (RDAMNC).

The two organisations hope their new joint discussion paper, survey and call for submissions can be a catalyst for change.

RDANR director Tim Williamson said the impact of bushfires and Covid-19 during 2019/20 have highlighted the need to work together at a regional level to address the challenges impacting both businesses and jobseekers.

“RDA Northern Rivers has recently modelled the impact of Covid-19 on the local economy,” he said.

“The results indicate that thousands of Northern Rivers workers could be unemployed due to the coronavirus shutdown, and the crisis will have an impact on businesses and the economy for years to come.

“Opening discussions around how employment programmes and initiatives are approached can be a tool to better drive initiatives.”

Mr Williamson said the Grattan Institute also researched the impact that the current crisis will have on young people, women and those on lower incomes.

“They are likely to work in occupations and industries most affected by the shutdowns and spatial distancing measures imposed to slow the spread of the virus,” he said. 

“Key organisations, jobseekers, long-term unemployed, carers need to be at the centre of any proposed solutions. Currently initiatives are too often replicated and repeated over time, as funding expires for one focus group and ultimately replaced to be directed towards another.

The new project will gather feedback from stakeholders to help laying the foundations for programs that align with the recommendations of the final North Coast Employment Strategy.

The Regional Australia Institute has also partnered with the program and will contribute to the final document and advocacy.

Submissions close on May 12 and the release of the North Coast Employment Strategy is scheduled for June 23.

To contribute, you can complete the survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/northcoastemployment

You can download the discussion paper from http://rdamnc.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/North-Coast-Employment-Strategy-DISCUSSION-PAPER.pdf

You can email feedback to either Tim Williamson director@rdanorthernrivers.org.au, or Kerry Grace ceo@rdamnc.org.au