Skills are needed across a range of industries to fill the workforce gaps, says Regional Development Australia.
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On a single day last week, an online job board had 55 local employers looking for staff in various fields.
Dubbo is already one of the migration areas in NSW, and the local economic outlook for the region is looking dapper but we need workers coming over this way.
Regional Development Australia - Orana chief executive officer Megan Dixon said the latest census data already show the flow of "positive migration" here from capital cities as well as those from overseas.
"It's extremely positive for the region and businesses are looking for ways to find staff from skilled to semi-skilled, degree-qualified or without degrees," she said.
"Businesses in our region won't be able to reach their full potential without having the staff they need that's why population growth is critical."
In actuality, Ms Dixon said, Dubbo's business community in all fields is looking for all types of workers to fill the skills shortage.
"It's equal to 10 in 10 businesses that need workers from lots of conversations we've had with businesses...this shortage of staff is across the board," Ms Dixon said.
The shortage of workers in the region is reflected in the unemployment rate of 4.1 percent this year, compared to 1.7 percent before the pandemic hit the country.
Within 10 kilometers of the city are the following jobs advertised include: customer service for Blue Scope Steel, Dan Murphy needs a customer service assistant as well as Toyota Dealership while Dubbo Council needs an accounts receivable clerk.
The MBC Recruitment and APG Workforce need urgent plant operators and road workers. Assistants are needed by Dental Primary while Western NSW Primary Health Network needs a healthcare pathways coordinator and many more jobs available for keen jobseekers.
From RDA latest statistics for the region taken from the 2022 Australian Bureau of Statistics, our population stands at 115,566, slightly less from the previous 123,000 and 49,871 of our working-age residents are employed with median weekly income of $1,377. The lowest take-home pay is $743 per week.
Ms Dixon said agriculture and primary industries remain the biggest employer in the region accounting for 13.5 percent and health care services next at 13.4 percent.
Education and training providers take in 9.6 percent of our local workers, while construction has 7.4 percent, mining at 6.7 percent while the accommodation and food industry are employing 7.1 percent of our locals.
"More jobs are available because our businesses and industries have well and truly opened [since the pandemic] particularly in construction where a lot of projects have started including in those towns [within] the Renewable Energy Zone," Ms Dixon said.
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Ms Dixon said activities in the construction of solar, wind and hydro projects are taking place in the Orana region since the REZ covering several Orana towns in the far west was established.
The health services sector is largely affected by staff shortages and this is one of the workforce concerns felt in the region, Ms Dixon said.
The RDA Orana has been involved in shaping the designation of Orana as one of the migrant settlement centres in the state which also includes Mudgee in the Mid-Western region, as well as 12 other smaller towns such as Bourke, Brewarrina, Bogan, Cobar, Coonamble, Gilgandra, Narromine, Walgett, Warren and Warrumbungle.
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