John Spoehr

Closing the motor vehicle industry - the impact on Australia

The Australian Workplace Innovation and Social Research Centre (WISeR) commissioned a study by the National Institute of Economic and Industry Research (NIEIR) to assess the impact of the closure of the motor vehicle industry in Australia following announcements by General Motors Holden (GMH), Ford and Toyota that they will be ceasing production in the country.

The energy to engage: wind farm development and community engagement in Australia

This report reviews what is known about community engagement in wind energy industry and identify what we still need to understand. After briefly presenting the relationship between wind farms and society as a significant one, we will recapitulate what strains that relationship and how community engagement can address it. We will point out that divergent models of community engagement are currently available to analysts and practitioners; that companies around the world are increasingly shifting towards more collaborative forms of engagement; that Australian business in the wind energy industry and planning authorities have some catching-up to do if they are to align themselves with such a global trend; and that the gap between declarations of principle advocating tighter collaboration betweenwind farm developers and communities and the actual practice on the ground has left some critics wondering whether those declarations are just rhetorical stratagems geared to placate public opinion.

Beyond the Creative Quick Fix Conceptualising Creativity’s Role in a Regional Economy

Over the last decade creativity has joined innovation as one of the strategic hallmarks of growth oriented regional economies. In an attempt to emulate the growth trajectories of regions as diverse as Emilia Romagna and Silicon Valley, policymakers have sought to identify universal principles of regional economic success and prosperity. Creativity has emerged as the focus of considerable interest throughout the world (Leadbetter 2000; Florida 2003; Reich 2001; Landry 2000). In the state of South Australia in Australia creativity has been elevated to one of six key objectives in South Australia’s Strategic Plan released in 2004. This policy stance has been influenced by a range of thinkers who have been engaged by a number of State Government departments.

The fourth industrial revolution and the future of manufacturing work in Australia: challenges and opportunities

ABSTRACT Many now argue that we are at the beginning of a ‘fourth industrial revolution’ (Industry 4.0) – a time characterised by the convergence of a wide range of mutually reinforcing digital technologies accompanied by great advances in computing power and the ability to network things relatively cheaply. In the Australian context little attention is paid to the implications of the Industry 4.0 for workplaces, workers and society through technology-driven changes. This paper addresses these under-researched dimensions of the debate in Australia, focusing attention on the potential for particular variants of Industry 4.0 to be vehicles for adoption of regressive ‘business models’ that accelerate the growth of precarious, unsafe and alienating forms of employment in the manufacturing sector. We also examine a more optimistic possible outcome by asking how Industry 4.0 might serve as a vehicle for reversing deindustrialisation in Australia, and we present a research agenda to begin working towards this. An industrial relations system equipped for the digital age must be capable of preventing the growth of precarious, exploitative and alienating forms of employment that undermine long held legal, ethical and community standards.

'Building Jobs’: Renewal SA’s Works Program at Playford Alive

This report provides a detailed overview of Renewal SA’s Works Program implemented as part of Playford Alive, a large scale urban renewal project representing a partnership between Renewal SA, the City of Playford, the Department for Communities and Social Inclusion (DCSI), Housing SA and the local community. It documents evidence generated by semi‐structured interviews with project staff and participants of the program. Renewal SA’s Works Program at Playford Alive requires private contractors and service providers to deliver either work experience and longer term placements or training to a number of local unemployed people as a condition of being awarded the contract. Key findings from this report include: Early pessimism based upon ideological objections to ‘government interference’ in business decisions proved to be ill‐founded and contractors appear to have embraced the program. There exists a diverse range of physical and psychological barriers to the unemployed entering the labour market and this justifies the eclectic nature of the Works Program. The ‘three tiered’ structure of the Works Program means that the unique circumstances and support requirements of individuals can be best addressed. The Works Program was viewed as particularly useful by women who had taken time out of the labour market due to childcare responsibilities as it enabled them to retrain, build human capital and change career trajectories. Both the work experience placement and onsite training offered participants the opportunity to ‘showcase’ themselves and ‘get a foot in the door’. The Works Program recruits through multiple entry points, both private sector and public institutions, and has succeeded in creating awareness of the program throughout the community. All three streams incorporated within the Works Program have been well used. These streams include: 1) classroom training 2) Live Site training and 3) work experience placements. The Works Program generates quantifiable and measureable outcomes, for example new jobs and formal qualifications, however it also generates a range of subjective outcomes which are more likely to encourage longer term employment and other social benefits.

The contribution of GMH Elizabeth operations to the South Australian economy and the potential impacts of closure

Description: This paper presents the results of an analysis of the contribution that the GMH manufacturing facility in Elizabeth makes to South Australia. It updates a previous analysis of the contribution in 2011 undertaken for the Department of Manufacturing, Innovation, Trade, Resources and Energy – to reflect the reduction in employment at the facility that has occurred over the last two years. Note that this report does not consider the issues around what is required to underpin the longer term sustainability of the operations at GMH. Nor does it consider the benefits that would arise from alternative uses of the funds that have and might be applied to GMH support.

The workforce retention dividend - valuing knowledge and skills in the public sector workforce

This report demonstrates the hidden costs of public sector job losses. Key findings: Rapid loss of public sector workers, especially those with more experience and skill, will result in the loss of corporate knowledge and hinder the transfer of skills within the South Australian public service. This loss represents a considerable value which needs to be taken into account in public sector workforce planning. Over the next five years an accelerating retirement rate of public servants will coincide with the significant expansion of the resources sector. Combined these forces will result in tightening of the South Australian labour market. In this environment it will be more difficult to attract and retain experienced workers in the public sector. Loss of knowledge and skill in this context is particularly problematic. It may harm the ability of the State Government to deliver its programs effectively and efficiently. It is possible to estimate the approximate average value (investment) of a public service worker over his or her tenure in order to understand the implications of the State Governments public sector workforce employment reductions strategy (1600 FTEs or approximately 1913 persons on an FTE to person ratio). The total cost of hiring 1913 persons is approximately

The acceptability of climate change in agricultural communities: Comparing responses across variability and change

38,259,200. The average total expenditure on training for them during their tenure is

Measuring social inclusion and exclusion in Northern Adelaide: a report for the Department of Health

25,308,460. Therefore, the total recruitment and training expenditure on average for the 1600 FTE public sector workforce reductions is around

An evaluation of the energy efficiency program for low income households

63,567,660. The State Government needs to develop a better understanding of the implications of staff losses for the knowledge and skill base of the public service as a central element of public sector workforce planning. The central challenge to be faced by policymakers is the potential loss of a large number of experienced and skilled public sector workers over a relatively short period of time and the growing difficulty of sourcing suitable replacements in a tighter labour market. There is an urgent need to develop a multi-faceted approach to attraction and retention that addresses a range of drivers and barriers. Some progress is being made in this respect. The Treasurers announcement, in the 2011-12 State Budget of the introduction a new Retention Provision represents a constructive contribution to this and should be implemented universally across the public sector. There will be particular challenges associated with attraction and retention of public servants in regional South Australia where employment demand generated by mining projects has the potential to starve the public sector of various occupational skills. Related identifier: ISBN: 978-0-9871950-4-3