CASE STUDY FROM BOWHILL ENGINEERING –
pg 21 of INNOVATION AND PRODUCTIVITY IN REGIONAL AUSTRALIA
At the Sept 2022 Annual Regional Australia Institute (RAI) Conference the theme of “Rebalance the Nation” was discussed over the 2 day summit.
One of the outcomes from this conference was the attached discussion paper, which features Bowhill Engineering as a case study
The availability of housing is also having an impact on their ability to attract and retain staff. Bowhill are considering a range of strategies including a drive-in, drive-out model that includes free on-site accommodation from Monday to Thursday; offering staff free rent for six months;and a rent-to-buy scheme with the aim of keeping apprentices in the area. Bowhill are also considering using any on-site accommodation as Air-BnBs on the weekend.
Regional Australia has a critical role to play – as it is both the origin of some drag on productivity growth, and the source of the required high rates of growth. National productivity growth will be enhanced, and lopsided growth avoided, if economic policies can leverage the sectors where regional Australia is already leading in productivity, while simultaneously addressing the sectors being held back.
The opportunity to support the nation’s productivity growth in the regions needs to be underpinned by a well-supported innovation ecosystem, in conjunction with measures to ensure regions are highly liveable and dynamic. There has been a boom in innovation infrastructure and actors in Australia, in association with a maturation and diversity in government policy aimed at driving innovation over the last 10 years. The combination of innovation market saturation and the redirection of effort and funding due to the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a downturn in growth in this area. Regional Australia is lagging behind on a range of innovation indicators such as education and training, business investment in R&D, capital attraction, and regional patents and trademarks.
