Online workshops address retention of workers in the Western Downs

Published on 15 April 2025

Western Downs Regional Council is holding a series of digital workshops to address the challenges of attracting and retaining young workers in key industries like agriculture, construction, energy, aged care and health services.

The series of four online workshops will be delivered via video conference between Tuesday 29 April and Friday 9 May 2025.

The workshops follow Council’s Regional Workforce Plan survey which closed on 11 April and gathered important feedback from local businesses, workers and community members to better understand the current employment landscape and future workforce needs of the region.

Western Downs Regional Council Mayor Andrew Smith said understanding the strengths, challenges and opportunities in the region’s workforce was paramount to ensuring the growth, productivity and great liveability of the Western Downs.

“The survey results revealed the region's greatest strength is the availability of jobs in key industries, but also that our employers are experiencing challenges in attracting and keeping staff,” Mayor Smith said

"The findings of the survey will be the central focus of the upcoming online workshops, where industry stakeholders and the community can provide further input and help shape the future of our local jobs market.

"The Western Downs Development Status Report was released last year and at that time, there was an incredible $7.5 billion in the development pipeline across a wide range of industries in the region.

"As a result, we're seeing strong demand in for skilled workers in fields like agriculture, construction, energy, aged care and health services.

"There's no shortage of opportunities here in the Western Downs but the same time, we need to work together to attract and keep more young people in the region.

"It's a key challenge, and one we're committed to addressing in our Regional Workforce Plan.

“With so much exciting development on the horizon, I’m urging local business owners and service providers to consider what the future looks like for their respective workforce and help us build a strong Regional Workforce Plan through participation in one of these workshops.

“We work hard to attract investment and development in our region and it’s important we start to think about how we can grow and diversity our regional workforce for the future.”

Join the Western Downs Regional Council via a video link at one of the following four online workshops:

Online Workshop 1 for business Tuesday 29 April from 2pm-4pm

Online Workshop 2 for community Wednesday 30 April from 6pm- 8pm

Online Workshop 3 for business Tuesday 6 May from 9am- 11am

Online Workshop 4 for business Friday 9 May 1pm-3pm.

For more information contact Council on 1300 268 624 (COUNCIL) or visit www.wdrc.qld.gov.au.