Project Stages

This initial stage of the project identified and mapped linkages between relevant bodies, organisations and departments delivering funding and initiatives available across all levels of Government, to leverage employment uptake and response to job vacancies.

The objective was to reduce potential duplication and optimise program delivery and jobs uptake.

A meeting was held with various stakeholders to assist in this mapping (see organisational model below). The intention of this stage of the project was to identify the key organisations in the Gold Coast employment and skills sector and to identify linkages, key roles, and responsibilities.

The traditional economic strengths of tourism and hospitality will continue to be a mainstay for the Gold Coast economy. This industry has been severely impacted by the challenging environment due to COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021.

A priority of this stage of the project was working with industry operators and key delivery agents to find ways to support tourism and hospitality jobs within this challenging environment and understanding their needs and opportunities.

In this stage of the project we proactively engaged with regional employers and industry stakeholders to ensure training and employment solutions are aligned with the skills and employment needs of the future.

This is a direct response to the changing nature of work and increased adoption of advanced technologies.

Industries engaged included space, advanced manufacturing, food processing, biomedical, marine and Industry 4.0.

This stage identified the future skill needs to build an employee pipeline to support the growth of our key industry sectors.

Sector-based roundtables were held with regional employers and industry stakeholders to ensure training and employment solutions are more accurately aligned with local skills needs and economic activity to support regional jobs growth.

We need to understand what those jobs of tomorrow will be and ensure that our local current students have the skillsets and qualification required to fill those roles.

From the industry perspective:

• Identify the emerging workforce opportunities and trends.
• What are the requirements from these roles?

What skillsets or qualifications would be desirable?

Download the final report below.

A key learning of the Gold Coast Regional Jobs Committee from its initial year and previous studies conducted by RDA Gold Coast has been the need to better connect students with employment opportunities. The Gold Coast has a diverse economy made up of leading, innovative economies, however this is not always well understood by students (and their parents) or job seekers.

To bridge this gap, the Be Ready app was developed by the GCRJC which seeks to provide this information for students and their parents in an easily accessible digital format. This was developed as a pilot project on the Gold Coast with the view that it could be expanded more broadly through Queensland and Australia.

The app was based on an existing app developed by Awesome Women in Construction (AWIC) who have previously focused on construction. The new version was expanded to include the space and marine sectors of which the Gold Coast has significant capability. In future stages of the apps development this can be expanded further to include sectors such as health and advanced manufacturing.

The app includes information regarding types of jobs, required skills, award salary and training or education requirements. It also has links to reference information such as TAFE and university open days and course guides.

The Be Ready app is available on Google Play and the Apple App Store.