BUSINESS SHOULD MAKE A MOVE CLOSER TO WESTERN SYDNEY TO SECURE SKILLED WORKERS SAYS NEW REPORT
7 March 2022
Business leaders are being encouraged to take a fresh look at Western Sydney’s booming pool of skilled workers and make the move to be Closer to the Talent they need to succeed and grow.
Business Western Sydney is today releasing a new report called “Closer to Talent: Why more businesses should locate to Western Sydney” which will be officially launched by the NSW Minister for Skills and Training, the Hon Alister Henskens SC MP, in Parramatta.
The report highlights the strong talent clusters that have been developing in major centres of Western Sydney in industries such as IT, public administration, finance and insurance, professional and scientific, and calls on business leaders to make the move to Western Sydney to secure their workforce if they want to thrive in the post-COVID economy.
“Western Sydney is skilled up and ready to work but for many people the long shlep into the city is out of date and a big turn off for the next generation of talented workers in our city,” said David Borger, Executive Director of Business Western Sydney.
“Western Sydney was once the manufacturing heartland of NSW where businesses were located near their workforce. That ended with the exodus of manufacturing and the agglomeration of skilled jobs in the inner city and Sydney CBD which has driven upskilling but also created the long commute from west to east for over 300,000 people.
“The post-COVID economy is going to be a competition for skilled workers and those businesses who can provide flexible and convenient workplaces will be the winners in the battle for talent.”
For example there are about 15,500 Blacktown residents employed in professional, scientific and technical services (including lawyers, architects, engineers and accountants). However, only 6,500 of this group actually work in Blacktown itself.
“Parramatta is a shining demonstration of government and business locating closer to their skilled workforce. Where government departments relocate, professional services follow. Witness the expansion of Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, and major new office tenants including NAB, Westpac, QBE and the Commonwealth Bank in new office buildings popping up in the Parramatta CBD.
“It’s time for business to take a fresh look at the talent of Western Sydney and make the move to where their workforce of the future live, play and now want to work,” said Mr Borger.
“Closer to Talent: Why more businesses should locate in Western Sydney” is part of a series of reports in the UDIA NSW and Business Western Sydney Next Gen West Campaign that seeks to highlight the challenges and solutions to making Western Sydney a better place to live, work, play and learn.