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Wednesday, October 19, 2022
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OVER FULL LAKE Eildon has been threatening to overfill for weeks, but following last week’s deluge the lake finally tipped over the 100 per cent mark. This, despite the release of 38,000 megalitres of water a day. PHOTO: Sam Hicks
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THE BIG DOWNPOUR
Pages 23-27
EDUCATION SPECIAL FEATURE
Where are the workers? Regional g workforce shortages g affectingg Mansfield’s hospitality, p y, trade,, and health sectors
ABOUT one third of advertised job vacancies are in regional Australia, within towns just like Mansfield, according to National Skills Commission (NSC) data released last week. Regional Australia Institute (RAI) CEO Liz Ritchie said August data shows 309,000 job advertisements nationally of which 91,000 are in the regions. The most pronounced shortages reported are in the areas of health care, trades, and personal services, which aligns with local employment trends. Two thirds of regional vacancies are for
BY SHAUN McMAHON smcmahon@ nemedia.com.au
managerial, professional, and qualified trades positions. Jon Gifford, President of the Mansfield District Business Association, said they’ve seen this within their membership body. “Our members are generally still suffering from staff shortages, with hospitality seemingly the hardest hit,” said Mr Gifford. “In terms of managerial and professional vacancies, our members have informed us that there are
a number of vacancies for these types of positions. “However, when these positions have been advertised our members have received very few suitable applications, if any.” When it comes to access to a doctor, the RAI said there are about 328 full time equivalent GPs for every 100,000 people in the regions compared to an average of 465 in our capital cities. The sobering stat follows a recent crisis summit in Canberra relating to GP workforce and funding issues nationwide. Dr Ben Nally, Practice Principal at Central General
Practice in Mansfield, said with the large number of GPs retiring in the next 10 years and a reduction in doctors entering GP training, the challenges are significant. “All of this is magnified when we bring the focus to regional and rural areas,” said Dr Nally. “Attracting GPs to the clinic implies attracting them to the rural lifestyle, and with this, relocating themselves and often a significant other or children. “At our clinic we have commenced a recruitment drive that focuses heavily on the lifestyle aspect because,
let’s face it, Mansfield is a wonderful place to live.” Dr Nally added that being a rural GP can differ from metro practice, with rural GPs often taking on sub-specialties which can significantly alter a working day. “We could be consulting in the clinic one day, be called for an emergency caesarean section that night, or organising a helicopter transfer of a patient to Melbourne over the weekend,” he said. “This simply isn’t for everyone, so the recruitment pool again reduces.” “Our clinic has been
implementing a number of different strategies recently to try and improve patient access, and putting together a package that appeals to and retains quality staff. “If we could just reduce some of the barriers, this might become a little easier.” The RAI also highlighted a shortage of trades, which was constraining developments such as new housing projects and putting a handbrake on productivity growth. New builds are aplenty in Mansfield and don’t appear to be slowing down according to local builder Ben Martin from BM Built. ■ Continued page 3
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