Employment Challenges for Western Sydney
Employment Challenges for Western Sydney
Earlier this year the Western Sydney Regional Organisation of Councils (WSROC) commissioned a consortium led by the UWS Urban Research Centre to assist in developing employment strategies for North West and West Central Sydney.
The project team, which includes the Whitlam Institute, is close to completing the report. Urban Research Centre Director, Professor Phillip O'Neill, has been conducting a series of briefings for local governments in the region and State planners canvassing the report’s key findings and recommendations.
Indicative of the scale of the challenge is the target of 280,000 net additional jobs in Western Sydney by 2031 established by the NSW Government's Metropolitan Strategy.
As Professor O'Neill points out: 'Western Sydney is a complex, robust economy with a history of successful adjustment to national and global change. Its manufacturing sector retains significant size. The region has built thriving new business parks. Parramatta is reaching genuine regional city status. And population growth itself, as we show, provides an ongoing impetus for employment generation. So there are reasons for optimism…
But this doesn't mean the region can rely for its future growth and prosperity on the performance of the Sydney city-region economy and the national economy.'
The Whitlam Institute is delighted to be working with Phil and his team at the Urban Research Centre. Their work across a range of projects would be of interest to any one with an eye to our urban futures so you might like to check it out at their website. WSROC has also just started a blog to discuss matters relevant to Western Sydney.
