A suite of resources developed by a collective of regional organisations aim to help recruitment efforts of local employers in attracting skilled workers and their families to the Gladstone Region.
Gladstone Regional Council (GRC), Gladstone Area Promotion and Development Limited (GAPDL), Gladstone Engineering Alliance (GEA), Gladstone Chamber of Commerce & Industry (GCCI) and Gladstone Region engaging in action Together (GRT), partnered to improve the visibility of the Gladstone Region as an attractive place to relocate for work.
Skills Attraction Collaborative Partners – Front Row (L-R) Kylie WIlliams (GRT), Courtney Morrison (GRT) Back Row (L-R) Lorna McGinnis (GRT),
Alison Murdoch (GEA), Mayor Matt Burnett (GRC), Peter Masters (GEA), Nicola Smith (GAPDL) and Samantha Devers (GCCI).
The ‘Glad to be in Gladstone’ webpage on the Gladstone Regional Council website streamlines access to information for people looking to move to the Gladstone Region. The webpage includes case study videos of new and existing Gladstone residents whose stories promote the liveability and point of difference of the region, job opportunities for partners and training and employment pathways for family members.
To support employers leverage the resources, a ‘Gladstone Region Skills Attraction Employers Toolkit’ has been released, suited to small to medium employers, including human service sector employers, providing easy-to-follow steps to use the online resources in their own recruitment efforts to attract new skilled employees from outside the region. This resource aims to support local employers across sectors through their own recruitment efforts in a consistent and shared narrative approach.
Employers can utilise the ‘You’ll be glad you did’ case study videos, pre-written social media content, email content and links to GRC’s ‘Glad to be in Gladstone’ webpage, by following the simple steps in the Employers Toolkit.
Local employers can access the toolkit - a community owned resource, through the ‘Glad to be in Gladstone’ webpage and are invited to contribute feedback to inform improvement and identification of further cross-sector collaborative opportunities to reduce the impact of skills attraction and retention issues.
In 2022 our human service sector identified skills attraction as a priority inclusion of the community-designed Gladstone Region Wellbeing Action Plan. Attraction of skilled professionals to our service sector enables quality and timely supports for our families and children to thrive.
Following discussions of Gladstone’s Senior Officers Network of Government and the Economic Development Practitioner Network led by Gladstone Regional Council (GRC), Gladstone Region engaging in action Together (GRT) coordinated a workshop of Senior Leaders to identify immediate actions that could be taken to support skills attraction and retention efforts.
The increased visibility of the Gladstone Region as an attractive place to live, resulting from access to the online resources is already yielding more positive results in online searches related to moving to Gladstone.
Flyer: Gladstone Region Skills Attraction Employers Toolkit and Online Resources