Workforce planning is a systematic process designed to ensure provision and access to skilled workers at the right time.
Workforce development goes beyond a focus on data collection around standard labour and skills categories and seeks to understand the forces driving change, and how policy might directly engage with these forces to develop the workforce in a sustainable way.
It involves identifying critical jobs, workforce development needs (education and training and the time taken to acquire skills in demand) and the age profile of the workforce (including retirement/attrition intentions) as well as growth/contraction projections for occupations.
Workforce planning provides the means to meet labour demands with minimal delays (skill shortages).
If done properly, productivity increases while access to a supply of skilled labour to replace the ageing population as they retire is ensured.
There is a clear need to undertake workforce planning and development within the Hume Region that will:
- build the skills, capacity and capability of current industry participants, and
- attract new entrants across the supply chain
Workforce planning at the Hume Region level also has to be aware of other initiatives. National and Victorian stakeholders work best on analysing and setting longer term priorities in light of understanding general forces shaping change while at the same time creating environments that foster key stakeholders to work together. This report analyses government and industry directions across key sectors including:
- agriculture
- manufacturing
- health, aged care and community services, and
- transport, logistics and warehousing.
Local and sectoral government bodies and key stakeholders are working to complement this plan with more specific, detailed analysis of short run skill requirements in particular localities and sectors. This Workforce Development Plan has drawn on local government, industry and education and training knowledge in the Hume Region to provide this information and define the way forward.
The Hume Regional Workforce Development Plan is about undertaking effective workforce planning through regional partnerships, involving all levels of government and the private sector along with education providers, and non-profit organisations to foster the development of systems that drive innovation and support job growth.