Attracting and retaining a skilled workforce is a key priority for the industries Skills Insight supports. These industries care for our environments and animals and produce the raw materials that feed, clothe and house the population. With many operations based in regional, rural and remote areas, they face unique workforce challenges.
A multitude of effective strategies and resources exist; however, businesses can struggle to navigate them and identify advice that suits their specific attraction and retention needs.
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In consultation with relevant stakeholders, Skills Insight is undertaking a desktop research project to develop guidance for small to medium business to support the attraction and retention of employees across regional, rural and remote (RRR) areas. The aim is to produce a centralised, web-based collection of tools and resources that will highlight opportunities for workforce development, together with case studies of successful place-based initiatives, empowering industry in regional, rural and remote areas to attract, retain and re-attract workers across all sectors.
Approach
The project team will collect information about current processes and examples of effective attraction and retention strategies.
A stakeholder working group will be established to participate in an industry needs analysis and provide advice on the development and implementation of the webpage. The broader industry will also have the opportunity to provide feedback on the draft webpage. It will then be submitted for review by the Department of Employment and Workforce Relations at the end of the project.
Content and scope
The final webpage will be available on the Skills Insight website to support small to medium businesses seeking to improve their workforce attraction and retention. The aim is to provide a central location with information and tools that support industry to address attraction and retention challenges by bringing together existing resources in a clear, accessible, and user-friendly format.
The scope and content will be refined with input from the stakeholder working group and broader industry consultation. Consideration will be given to:
- actions to support attraction of workers to regional, rural and remote locations
- actions businesses could take to attract workers to their organisation
- actions businesses could take to attract workers to their organisation
- take to retain workers within their organisation
- resources to support inclusive practices and workforce diversity
- case studies that display successful and replicable strategies
- avenues for industry to seek external support.
Project manager
Ngaire Stratton
Timeline
| Initial planning & scoping | March – April 2025 |
| Establishment of working group | May 2025 |
| Research and development of draft webpage | May – July 2025 |
| Working group review & refinement of draft | July – August 2025 |
| Draft webpage available for broad consultation & feedback | September – October 2025 |
| Refinement of draft with working group | November 2025 – January 2026 |
| Submission to DEWR | February 2026 |
| Publication of webpage | March 2026 |
Work is underway to develop a web resource offering tailored guidance on attracting and retaining employees across our industries, with a focus on rural, regional, and remote (RRR) areas. It is designed especially for small to medium businesses with limited management or HR resourcing. The resource will include practical tools, case studies, and other relevant materials to support workforce development.
Work to date
Drawing on knowledge gained from previous consultations and workforce planning activities, the project team identified potential topics and resources for inclusion in the web resource. The team also initiated consultations with stakeholders undertaking work to address attraction and retention across the industries we support.
A stakeholder Working Group was established to provide advice on the development and implementation of the web resource. The group first met on 19 June 2025 in Sydney and conducted an industry needs analysis to help refine the content of the web resource. The Working Group identified priority topics for the web resource, as well as key design functionality for the audience. Further meetings will be held to capture input from Working Group members unable to make the in-person session.
Next steps
A draft version of the web resource will be developed and refined with the Working Group before a full draft is developed for user testing at the Broad Consultation stage of the project.
The draft web resource will then be made available for Broad Consultation, during which there will be the opportunity to view a mock up of the web resource and provide feedback. Following this, further refinements will be made with the Working Group.
The primary outcome of this project is a practical web resource designed to support regional, rural, and remote businesses in improving workforce attraction and retention. Once finalised, it will be published on the Skills Insight website. As part of project completion, a draft will also be submitted to the Department of Employment and Workforce Relations for review, along with a report outlining the development process.
This stage has not yet commenced.
At the broad consultation stage, we present and discuss potential solutions, collecting feedback from a wide range of stakeholder across the country. It follows consultation with various stakeholders that has already taken place throughout the project.
This stage has not yet commenced.
At the finalisation stage, final checks are conducted and the outcomes of the project are submitted to the Department for consideration. Following this, outcomes are published or enacted.