Researchers have spent the past two days interviewing local businesses to determine the skill gaps and workforce needs of the community.
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Dubbo City Council have initiated the research alongside the Orana Regional Workforce Planning and Development Strategy surveys conducted by Regional Development Australia (RDA)- Orana to assist with council's economic development strategies.
Dubbo City Council City Development Project Officer Kate Wright said where the RDA Orana research was looking into the whole region, the council's interviews will help shape workforce plans for Dubbo as part of the Economic Development Action Plan.
The investigation follows on from the research in the Dubbo Skills Audit and Employment Projects report, which was developed from census and statistical data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) and presented to the council in June.
The ABS data looked into the skill and credential gaps.
"It shows the number of people coming into Dubbo and what skills they have and the people moving out of Dubbo and what skills they take with them," Ms Wright said.
Following from the report, up to 60 Dubbo businesses across all sectors were interviewed on business issues such as their recruitment processes, customer base and supply chains.
"It's an opportunity to ask businesses the story behind the data," Ms Wright said.
Teams of advanced research students from the University of Sydney gathered the data on Tuesday and tomorrow, and the preliminary findings will be presented today.
"The preliminary findings will allow us to get a general feel for what people on the ground are saying and an initial insight into the businesses," Ms Wright said.
She said the next step is to workshop the findings with the Economic Development Advancement Committee, to create campaigns and workshops that can address the gaps identified by the research.
Ms Wright said Dubbo City Council and the University of Sydney have a research partnership and students from the university were also used last year to help develop the Digital Economy Strategy.