The key to attracting workers to a region is to provide relevant information about the communities in which employees will live and work . Honest communication about the community to set the right expectations early is essential .
The provision of accurate information about issues such as healthcare , education , policing and retail outlets is critical to creating the right expectations for prospective residents . A clearly articulated community personality also underpins promotion and engagement with potential new workers .
Attracting new talent requires an active and locally led economic development approach , built on a partnership between government , business and the community .
6 . Be proactive in managing tensions or issues between newcomers and the existing community The arrival of newcomers will inevitably change any community . Whilst the benefits of diversity and renewal are well understood , change creates tension which can undermine community support for proactive attraction and retention strategies as well as the successful retention of newcomers .
Promoting social cohesion should be a core component of attraction and retention strategies . This is particularly important where the newcomer workforce will be of a significant size compared to the existing labour market , or where the community has recently experienced very limited levels of in migration .
Addressing this issue begins with the engagement process used to develop the strategy and continues through implementation . The design of welcome and settlement and promotional elements of strategies should consider direct responses to these issues .
Highlighting local workforce development and job opportunity pathways within the strategy is another option that can enhance local participation and reinforce that there is equity of opportunity between newcomers and existing residents .
CONCLUSION Achieving population and workforce growth through sustained domestic and international migration is fundamental to any region ’ s economic success .
The next ten years will see significant changes in workforce needs for regional economies and responding to these will require the attraction and retention of new talent alongside the development of new capabilities in the existing workforce .
Attracting new talent requires an active and locally led economic development approach , built on a partnership between government , business and the community .
By integrating promotion , welcome and settlement , attraction focussed workforce development initiatives and support for business recruitment and retention success local and regional economic development professionals can play a leading role in preparing their economies for the future .
Acknowledgement : This article draws on background research undertaken for the Regional NSW Growth and Development Corporation and Moree Shire Council during the development of workforce attraction and retention strategies for two NSW Special Activation Precincts in 2022 .
REFERENCES
1 . Parilla J and Liu S , 2019 , Talent Driven Economic Development , Metropolitan Program , Brookings Institution Washington DC USA
2 . Thomas P . Miller and Associates 2019 , Talent Attraction and Retention Best Practices Scan and Recommendations Report , Prepared for Radius Indiana
3 Pepper Brand Managers 2020 , Grampians New Resident and Workforce Attraction Strategy and Action Plan , Regional Development Victoria , Melbourne . Sourced from https :// grampianstourism . com . au / wp-content / uploads / sites / 4 / 2021 / 06 / Grampians-New- Resident-Skills-Attraction-Strategy-Action-Plan . pdf
4 Mack K . 2018 , Inquiry into the indicators of , and impact of , regional inquality in Australia : Evocities Submission , EvoCities , Albury NSW
5 . Pepper Brand Managers 2021 , Grampians New Resident and Workforce Attraction Strategy Review and Evaluation , Regional Development Victoria , Melbourne . https :// grampianstourism . com . au / wp-content / uploads / sites / 4 / 2021 / 06 /
Grampians-New-Resdient-Attraction-Reviewand-Final-Evelaution-Report . pdf
6 Watson C and Crane K 2018 , Huron County Workforce Attraction & Retention Strategy 2018- 2020 , Sourced from https :// www . huroncounty . ca / wp-content / uploads / 2018 / 12 / Huron-County- Workforce-Attraction-and-Retention-Strategy- 2018-2020-V2-1 . pdf
7 . Roanoke Regional Partnership , Thrive 2027 Plan . Sourced from https :// indd . adobe . com / view / ee8ae69f-48d0-44b5-98d0-e583c94768bb
8 . https :// sherbrooke-innopole . com / en / servicesentreprise / attraction-et-retention-de-maindoeuvre /
9 . EKOS 2016 , Highlands and Islands Talent Attraction , Retention and Return Strategy and Action Plan < Highland and Islands Enterprise , Scotland
10 . Becker K , Hyland P and Soosay C , 2013 , Labour Attraction and Retention in Rural and Remote Queensland Communities , Australasian Journal of Regional Studies , Vol . 19 , No . 3
11 . Victorian Department of Community Development 2010 , Attracting and retaining staff in rural-and-regional-Victoria
12 . Davies A , Tonts M , Troy L and Pelusey H , 2009 Australia ’ s Rural Workforce – An analysis of labour shortages in rural Australia , Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation , Publication No . 09 / 008
13 . Haslam-McKenzie F . 2007 , Attracting and retaining skilled and professional staff in remote locations , Desert Knowledge CRC .
14 . Nicholas , A & Shah , C 2014 , Incentives for relocating to regional Australia : estimates using a choice experiment , NCVER , Adelaide . https :// cica . org . au / wp-content / uploads / NCVER- Incentives-for-Relocating-to-Regional-Australiafor-Work-June-2014- . pdf
15 . Becker K , Hyland P and Soosay C , 2013 , Labour Attraction and Retention in Rural and Remote Queensland Communities , Australasian Journal of Regional Studies , Vol . 19 , No . 3
16 . Victorian Department of Community Development 2010 , Attracting and retaining staff in rural-and-regional-Victoria : Case studies
17 . Musoni E ., 2019 , Steps to Settlement Success : A toolkit for rural and regional communities , Regional Australia Institute , Canberra .
18 . Becker K , Hyland P and Soosay C , 2013 , Labour Attraction and Retention in Rural and Remote Queensland Communities , Australasian Journal of Regional Studies , Vol . 19 , No . 3
19 . SGS Economics and Planning 2017 , Planning in Australia : economic benefits of cultural diversity https :// sgsep . com . au / publications / insights / economic-benefits-of-cultural-diversity
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JACK ARCHER Jack Archer specialises in regional development strategy , stakeholder engagement and policy advice . He is the Founder of regional development consultancy ProjectsJSA , an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Cairns Institute , James Cook University , and former CEO of the Regional Australia Institute .
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT JOURNAL VOL 16 NO 1 2023 09