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CQUniversity vice chancellor Nick Klomp . Photo : Supplied
A regional perspective
Reflections on the outcomes of the Jobs and Skills Summit .
By Nick Klomp
Heralded as the hottest ticket in town , the much-anticipated Jobs and Skills Summit has now come and gone in a flurry of funding and policy announcements .
Prior to the Summit , I foreshadowed the risk of a metro-centric focus , at a time when regional communities are hurting so badly from the skills shortage . The Summit attendee list , distinguished and diverse as it was , did not bode well for regional concerns taking centre stage .
While the higher education sector was ably represented by Universities Australia and a handful of academic experts , the Regional Universities Network , the Regional Australia Institute , and the Regional Education Commissioner were all glaring omissions from the guest list .
It was some consolation , then , to be back in Canberra a fortnight later as a panellist at the Regional Australia Institute ’ s Regions Rising conference , where regionalisation was the key focus . At the conference , a familiar story was repeated by many speakers and attendees : the pandemic has boosted net regional migration to unprecedented levels , but this trend has not been a panacea to regional workforce shortages – far from it . Rather , it has exacerbated an already dire situation .
As flexible work became the new normal , treechange- and seachange-seeking city workers brought their city jobs with them – have laptop , will travel . This has put pressure on the availability of doctors , health professionals , tradespeople and service workers in our regional towns and cities , many of whom were already in short supply prior to COVID .
The workforce shortages in the regions remain unfulfilled by city migrants , who have largely relocated for lifestyle reasons , but the increased pressure on housing and accommodation has made it difficult to attract workers to the regions
While all are welcome in our regions , these trends really highlight the perils of making policy and funding decisions in a city-centric echo chamber . Yes , several decisions arising from the Jobs and Skills Summit will benefit the regions but , as always , the devil is in the detail . Significant nuance is required if we are to really address the skills shortage in areas outside of the capital cities .
GROWING OUR OWN Among the various Summit outcomes , I was pleased to see a focus on improving access to jobs and training pathways for women , First Nations people , regional Australians and culturally diverse communities . The announcement of equity targets for training places is certainly a step in the right direction .
To delve a layer deeper , I would suggest that the regional component of this broader policy needs some bespoke adjustments if it is to have a sustainable long-term impact in regional Australia . We ’ ve heard it so many times before that it barely warrants repeating , but it ’ s a fact that students who study in the regions are far more likely to stay in the regions after graduating , thereby contributing to regional productivity . Any focus on improved job pathways for regional Australians must have a regional endgame in mind .
The trick is to make regional study “ sticky ”. In this context , stickiness refers to the tendency of users to stick with your product or service ( in this case tertiary education ) because it is engaging and valuable to them . The stickier the product or service , the higher the likelihood of customer retention and increased lifetime value .
Across the higher education sector , we are seeing pockets of innovation in which teachers , faculties and industry employers are building a stronger nexus between study and the workplace . In some cases , degrees include paid employment as an assessable component of a student ’ s final year . In others , institutions are trialing a higher ed version of the VET apprenticeship , in which most of the learning is workplace based but the qualification is accredited by a university .
Giving students the ability to earn while learning , in a role that is a stepping stone towards their desired vocation , is perhaps the stickiest incentive of all . Making this approach a standard part of regional tertiary education would be a policy winner , with universities , regional employers and students themselves all standing to benefit from an upgraded version of workintegrated learning .
Government funding for regional universities to trial further innovation in this space would help to turbocharge the experimental work already underway , and lead to almost-instant benefits for regional economies .
REGIONAL ADVANTAGE ERODED Perhaps the most bittersweet outcome of the Summit has been the expansion of post-study work rights for international students . Not because it represents bad policy per se , but because it erodes the
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