Localise the benefits of infrastructure delivery and industry growth

Project development and infrastructure construction can provide a short-term stimulus for local economies but may also result in economic and social disruption. In some cases, major projects are not strongly connected to local economies, which can lack the business and workforce capacity and social infrastructure to derive strong and sustained value.

Also, local businesses and workforces can find it difficult to engage with major project teams, who are often not locally established. If communities are linked with project leaders, this can deliver local and regional economic benefits, including employment opportunities.

The next wave of development in Northern Australia will require skilled workforces to plan, deliver and operate infrastructure. Local capacity in the public and private sectors needs to be enhanced by attracting and retaining leaders in the technically complex fields of planning, procurement, financing, construction and operations.

There must be deliberate steps to develop these skills in Northern Australia. Enlisting and developing workers in the communities that will house infrastructure projects is an important factor for delivering local benefits. Increasing their capacity should incorporate a proportionate transition of the workforce to operation and maintenance roles.

" The next wave of development in Northern Australia will require skilled workforces to plan, deliver and operate infrastructure. "

Developing a trained local workforce can reduce asset maintenance costs and increase operational resilience by not having to rely on transport infrastructure and services to support access from workers from outside regions. Providing education and training services to develop the local workforce as well as the physical and digital technology that supports them is therefore important to Northern Australia's economic development. Place-based digital plans require consideration of both infrastructure as well as digital literacy and use cases.

For more detail on improved workforce planning, see the Industry productivity and innovation chapter.