Across Australia, organisations are grappling with rapidly shifting workforce needs. Regional communities in particular are feeling the effects of ageing populations, a tightening labour market, and ongoing challenges in attracting and retaining skilled people. At the same time, industries like care, health, allied health, disability support, agriculture, renewable energy, construction, and digital services are experiencing unprecedented demand.
What’s become clear is that generic, one-size-fits-all workforce solutions simply don’t work. Regions need tailored strategies that reflect their local priorities, employers, and communities. They also need shared approaches across industries where challenges overlap.
At recent care sector workforce discussions in regional South Australia (SA), a series of priorities emerged that reinforce the importance of place-based, industry-specific workforce planning and development. These insights, shared by Lisa Brock, Employment Facilitator, Mid North, SA are highly relevant not only for the care sector, but for every priority industry that requires a coordinated, future-focused workforce plan.
Entry Pathways and Career Progression Must Be Designed for Local Realities
Many regions struggle to attract new people into essential roles because entry pathways aren’t clear, accessible or visible. The same is true across manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, trades, and emerging sectors like clean energy.
From the care sector summit, several practical ideas stood out:
- Developing guides and toolkits to help employers grow their own workforce
- Defining clear entry-level roles and mapped career pathways
- Establishing regional Jobs and Skills Hubs with sector-specific specialisations
- Creating regional skills passports to help learners and workers navigate opportunities
- Strengthening ties between employment service providers, RTOs, and employers
- Increasing the availability of training that is delivered locally, not just online
- Introducing paid placements and funding for placement support services
- Piloting new workforce models that unlock underutilised talent
- Running regional workforce campaigns that speak directly to locals
These are the kinds of actions that make an industry easier to enter, more attractive to stay in, and clearer for people wanting to progress. They also align strongly with Workforce BluePrint’s approach to designing workforce pipelines based on real-world labour market needs and regional context.
Attraction, Retention and Workforce Support Needs a Coordinated Approach
Attracting and retaining staff in priority sectors is a constant challenge across Australia. Regional employers compete not only with metropolitan markets, but with each other. A coordinated strategy helps address these challenges systemically, not employer by employer.
The ideas presented through the care sector consultations translate well into other industries:
- Enhanced regional employee benefits schemes
- Shared employment models, allowing workers to build full income across multiple employers
- HR practitioner networks to share tools, insights and solutions
- Communities of practice that bring together supply side service providers
- Greater employer involvement in finding childcare solutions which can be a critical barrier to workforce participation
These strategies acknowledge that retention is not just about wages. It’s about people feeling supported, connected, and able to manage work alongside life and family responsibilities.
The Need for Strong Regional Coordination and “System Architecture”
One of the strongest messages to come out of the summit was the need for improved coordination.
When a region operates with various projects and programs, sometimes with multiple stakeholders working independently, which can hinder progress and outcomes may be diluted. What’s needed is a backbone structure and systematised approach something Workforce BluePrint has been advocating for over many years.
Key next steps identified included:
- Developing a consolidated database of workforce initiatives and mapping them to recommendations
- Creating simple mechanisms to share and update information, such as a workforce alert group
- Updating the Regional Workforce Action Plan, including identifying lead organisations
- Confirming dates for ongoing workforce summits
- Inviting lead organisations to report on progress annually or before each summit
These actions demonstrate a maturity in thinking, moving from discussion to accountability, ownership and measurable progress.
Why Place-Based, Industry-Specific Workforce Planning Matters
Workforce needs in Whyalla are different to those in Kangaroo Island, the Riverland, or the Yorke Peninsula. The needs of the care sector differ from mining, horticulture, hospitality or digital tech. Yet what they all share is the requirement for workforce strategies that are deeply grounded in local:
- context
- employers
- demographics
- opportunities
- training capability and capacity
- barriers and enablers
This is why Workforce BluePrint’s methodologies, including strategic foresight, skills mapping, the TAKE ACTION system, and regional workforce plans, are built around collaboration with councils, Regional Development Australia, Jobs and Skills Councils, local employers, industry groups, Registered Training Organisations, Universities and community partners.
Generic templates won’t solve workforce shortages. Tailored, region-specific, industry-aligned planning will.
Moving Forward With Confidence
As regions across Australia prepare for growth in priority sectors such as care, health, renewable energy, defence, tourism, agriculture, construction and more, the need for coordinated, forward-thinking workforce development has never been greater.
The work emerging from the care sector summit is a strong example of what can happen when stakeholders come together with a shared purpose. By applying this place-based, industry-specific approach more broadly, regions can shape the workforce they need, strengthen local economies and create meaningful, sustainable employment pathways.
Workforce BluePrint supports this work in partnership with communities, leaders and industries across the country, and if you'd like to explore how a tailored workforce plan could support your region or industry, please get in touch.