Target manufacturing support for Qld “energy capital”

QMI General Manager Commercial - Nimmi Pushparajan and Neil Andrews - Quality Assurance Officer, White Industries.

Queensland’s Western Downs region is known for its manufacturing industry, which supports agriculture, mining and energy infrastructure.

The area has the reputation of being the state’s “energy capital”, with coal, gas, hydrogen, wind and solar all located in the heart of the resource-rich Surat Basin and powering more than two million Australian households every day.

Which is why it is a perfect region for ICN QLD – through the Queensland Manufacturing Institute (QMI) - to deliver targeted support to manufacturing businesses.

The Shape Western Downs Energy Future program is a partnership between the Queensland Government, QMI and the Western Downs Regional Council (WDRC).

It aims to identify the support needed to enable growth in the manufacturing sector as well as identify new opportunities for manufacturers in major energy projects and other industries.

The three-phase program has been funded through the Queensland Government’s Regional Economic Futures Fund (REFF), which supports long-term community prosperity through facilitating sustainable employment and investment. WDRC is managing the project and QMI is delivering it.

According to QMI General Manager Commercial, Nimmi Pushparajan, the first phase of the program involved a high-level desktop analysis.

“We looked at the capability of the businesses we already have within Gateway by ICN and sent a survey to identify the challenges,” she said, adding that the program had moved to phase two, with site visits to manufacturers in order to gain a deeper understanding of what is needed to grow the sector.

“Visiting manufacturers is the major focus of this program. That's where we're really going to develop a deep understanding of the challenges and be able to make those connections to new opportunities.”

The Western Downs is a large geographical region within Queensland. The region has always had a very strong manufacturing sector, with a lot of the manufacturers working in the agriculture space, or in mining, oil and gas.

“The goal of this project is about really understanding the core capabilities of manufacturers in the region and then connecting them to new opportunities. We help them think about ways they can work in different projects, like new energy projects or Defence projects. The other goal is to understand what the challenges are in the sector, and then provide some support programs,” Nimmi said.

“For example, workforce is the biggest challenge, so we can look at how we can help manufacturers in that space. Rising energy costs is another issue; we can connect manufacturers to companies who can help them convert to lower energy use.”

There are more than 120 manufacturing businesses in the Western Downs and the QMI team will meet with as many as they can.

“We have been impressed by what we have seen so far, including companies with strong and transferable capabilities,” Nimmi said.

“The diversity and capability in the region are extraordinary.”

From this deep dive into the regional capacities, challenges and opportunities, QMI will develop phase 3 – the targeted support programs – starting in August with an event focused on the workforce challenges.

This program will help manufacturers:

• improve recruitment strategies

• connect with school-based apprenticeship programs

• develop leadership practices to retain employees

• attract non-traditional workforce segments such as women in traditional male fields, people returning to employment or culturally diverse employees

• understand how to market their businesses to potential employees.

“The goal is to provide practical, actionable strategies that can help manufacturers address workforce challenges. This will make these businesses more attractive to potential employees and improve their ability to recruit and retain skilled workers,” Nimmi said.

QMI will also be able to connect Western Downs manufacturers to a variety of local, regional and national opportunities through the ICN Network, through the ICN Gateway platform.

Western Downs manufacturers who would like to know more can contact QMI on info@qldmanufacturing.org.au.

For more information about the program, visit www.qldmanufacturinginstitute.org.au/westerndowns.