Case study: Supporting workforce priorities in Far North Queensland
[Background music]
[Grant Stidiford – Regional Director Far North Queensland, DESBT]
In the Far North Queensland region, there are heaps of opportunities for people to get a job, to train, and for small businesses to participate.
The Queensland Government has made big investments through its Queensland Workforce Strategy to help the region have the jobs in place and workers to fill those jobs.
Key initiatives, like the Regional Jobs Committee, which brings industry together with key government stakeholders.
[Patricia O’Neill – CEO, Cairns Chamber of Commerce]
We have very different challenges to other areas across the state, and therefore it was so important that our Cairns Regional Jobs Committee was fit for purpose. So we were actually been able to dive deep into the challenges of the Cairns workforce needs as far as skills and jobs were concerned.
[Jodie Duignan-George – Chair of Cairns, Regional Jobs Committee]
The committee is currently focused on the pillars of the Queensland Workforce Strategy that include transition to work, skilling our local workforce into the future, workforce participation, and also the underrepresented populations.
[Grant Stidiford – Regional Director Far North Queensland, DESBT]
Key initiatives, like the Diverse Queensland Workforce project, which is being run by Centacare successfully up here in Cairns.
[Andrea, Obeyesekere – Senior Manager, Centacare FNQ]
We're really proud at Centacare because we've been one of the Diverse Queensland Workforce providers in the Far North region. We've been doing that program for the last 2 years.
[Alex – Diverse Queensland Workforce Program participant]
With the help of the Diverse Queensland Workforce program run by Centacare, I was able to quickly find work here, and now I'm fitting out refugee housing in the area, and it's quite a rewarding job.
[Grant Stidiford – Regional Director Far North Queensland, DESBT]
We've been able to develop a workforce plan under the Grow Your Own project for Cairns, and that has a focus this time on marine, maritime and aviation, recognising that there are key job opportunities into the future for our region.
[Chris Pigott – Manager, Cairns Avaition Skills Centre and Aviation Australia]
So the industry in Cairns is fully behind supporting the training programs that we deliver and they welcome the partnership with the Queensland Government to support growth in the aviation industry.
[Gabriel Ila-Geno – Student of Cert IV Avionics, Cairns Aviation Skills Centre, Australia]
I'm studying Cert IV in airline maintenance avionics at the Cairns Aviation Skills Centre. I encourage anyone who wants an exciting career in the aviation industry to do this course. You've got genuine and caring instructors who will support you, practical experience and work experience. It's the best way to jump-start your career.
[Chris Pigott, Manager – Cairns Avaition Skills Centre and Aviation Australia]
It's good to see the Queensland Government identifying issues and helping to solve them locally.
Far North Queensland's economy is diverse with jobs and investment underpinned by a range of traditional industries including tourism, agriculture, health and education while emerging sectors including aviation, marine, film and television and clean energy are providing new economic and job creation pathways. It has a growing economy, tourist numbers are increasing and there are jobs on offer across a wide range of industries.
Through the Queensland Workforce Strategy, many new workforce initiatives are being progressed to provide local industries and employers with practical short-term support while setting longer-term workforce foundations. Helping to drive regional workforce responses is the Cairns Regional Jobs Committee hosted by the Cairns Chamber of Commerce.
Highlighting the importance of workforce is the Cairns Region Workforce Development Plan (PDF, 2MB) released in June 2024. Focused on 2 of the region's key growth industries – aviation, and maritime and marine – Jobs Queensland partnered with local industry stakeholders including Cairns Aviation Skills Centre through its 'Grow Your Own' Regional Workforce program to develop the plan, which outlines 37 actions to address local skills and workforce needs.
The Queensland Workforce Strategy is also supporting Queenslanders into good, secure jobs. This ranges from the Diverse Queensland Workforce Hub at Centacare FNQ in Cairns successfully supporting migrants, refugees, and international students into local jobs through to young locals taking on new pre-apprenticeship opportunities in the construction sector through the Group Training Organisation Pre-apprenticeship Program.
The region's new Regional School Industry Partnership Manager is coordinating a range of innovative industry partnerships with local schools allowing students to explore and experience different career pathways. This is complementing several industry-led School to Work Transitions projects providing tailored solutions to improve post-school outcomes for local students.
Learn more about Good people. Good jobs: Queensland Workforce Strategy 2022-2032.