Project Overview

The primary objective of this labour demand and training capacity assessment is to provide the North Queensland Forestry Hub with a clear understanding of how to ensure sufficient and adequate labour and skills for the industry on a continuing basis. ​ The secondary objective is to establish a roadmap for progressing these options at both industry and business levels, requiring the establishment and maintenance of relationships and partnerships. ​

 

Key Findings

• Workforce Challenges: The industry in North Queensland faces challenges in recruiting and retaining a skilled workforce, particularly for long-term positions. ​ There is generally a reliance on recruiting skilled workers from Southern Australia. ​

• Training Gaps: Most advanced technical training is conducted outside the region, leading to a lack of local training opportunities and career path visibility. ​

• Resource Security: The hardwood sector is constrained by resource security issues, impacting workforce development and investment. ​

• Sector-Specific Issues: Different sectors (forest growing and management, harvesting and haulage, sawmilling and processing) face unique challenges in workforce development and training. ​

• Diversity and Inclusion: There are opportunities to engage more women and First Nations people in the industry, with support needed to provide a broader understanding of career paths. ​

• Investment Hesitancy: Businesses are unlikely to invest in workforce development until resource security issues are resolved. ​ This creates a cycle where the lack of investment in training further exacerbates workforce challenges. ​

• Sector Perception: The sector is often viewed as providing jobs rather than careers, which affects the ability to attract and retain employees who are looking for long-term career opportunities. ​

 

Recommendations

• Establish a Workforce Development Network: To share labour, skill, and training needs and coordinate industry training. ​

• Recognize Existing Labour Challenges: Through the Workforce Development Network, share existing and emerging labour needs and solutions. ​

• Aggregate Training Demand: Conduct an annual survey to understand and prioritize regional training needs. ​

• Improve Visibility to RTOs: Establish better linkages with Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) to make training demand visible. ​

• Master Tree Growers Training Program: Seek expressions of interest for delivery in 2025 to improve tree-growing skills and identify potential industry workers. ​

• Develop Regional Trainer and Assessor Capacity: Focus on logical, complimentary occupations and share resources within the industry. ​

• Map Skills of Arborists: Future technical work to map arborist skills to forest harvesting requirements and develop a custom training program would support future labour demand. ​

• Establish Entry-Level Training Programs: Consider broad-based entry-level training programs or pathways for group/industry employment and training, targeting school-leavers, women, and First Nations people.