JOBS, SKILLS & MIGRATION BRIEFING SESSION

Australia’s Workforce Challenge

Skills, Platforms, Trust and Resilience

Tuesday, 21 July 2026

12:30 pm - 2:30 pm
Guest arrival, registration and networking from 12:30 pm
Formal programme from 1:00 pm

Sofitel Adelaide - Level 9
108 Currie Street
Adelaide SA 5000

Light refreshments will be provided

Presented by C4R - CENTRE FOR RESILIENCE in partnership with Workinitiatives

Supporting C4R Foundation Ltd

Event Overview

Australia’s workforce challenge extends well beyond a simple shortage of available workers.

Employers, governments, training providers and communities are navigating persistent skills gaps, changing workforce expectations, migration settings, regional attraction challenges, housing constraints, technology disruption and increasing competition for qualified people.

At the same time, workers and jobseekers can face fragmented employment systems, unclear career pathways, repeated application processes, limited recognition of transferable skills and difficulty connecting with the right employers, industries and regions.

The Jobs, Skills & Migration Briefing Session will bring together government, industry, workforce and city leaders to examine how these issues interact as one connected workforce system.

The discussion will consider where the challenge reflects a genuine shortage of skilled people, where it is a matching, mobility or participation problem, and where fragmented systems create avoidable barriers for employers and candidates.

The session will also explore the role that trusted workforce platforms, better data, employer participation and coordinated skills pathways could play in strengthening South Australia’s workforce resilience.

Why This Discussion Matters

South Australia’s economic ambitions depend on its capacity to attract, develop, connect and retain the people required by growing and strategically important industries.

Workforce capacity affects:

  • Business growth and productivity

  • Infrastructure and major project delivery

  • Defence and advanced manufacturing

  • Construction and skilled trades

  • Health, aged care and community services

  • Hospitality and tourism

  • Technology and digital industries

  • Education and training

  • Regional development

  • Small and medium business confidence

  • Public and essential services

  • South Australia’s ability to attract investment

A workforce system can have training programmes, job vacancies, migration pathways and employment services while still losing people and opportunities between those systems.

Strengthening workforce resilience requires more than increasing the number of job advertisements or training places. It requires coordinated pathways between employers, jobseekers, training organisations, industry bodies, government, regions and communities.

Key Discussion Areas

The session will examine:

  • Australia’s and South Australia’s current workforce pressures

  • The difference between a genuine skills shortage and a recruitment or matching problem

  • Employer demand and recruitment capacity

  • Skills formation and industry-led training

  • Apprenticeships and vocational education

  • Higher education and professional pathways

  • Skilled migration and workforce mobility

  • Interstate and regional attraction

  • Workforce participation and under-utilised capability

  • Recognition and portability of skills and credentials

  • Employer expectations and job design

  • The role of housing in workforce attraction and retention

  • Digital workforce platforms and employment technology

  • Connecting employers, candidates, regions and training providers

  • Employer and candidate verification

  • Data ownership, privacy and portability

  • Cybersecurity and platform continuity

  • Public trust and accountability

  • Practical opportunities for a South Australian workforce initiative or pilot

Featured Speakers

Commissioner Cameron Baker

South Australian Skills Commissioner
Chair of the South Australian Skills Commission

Commissioner Cameron Baker has more than 20 years of experience across vocational education and training, apprenticeships, workforce policy and industry engagement.

His professional background includes senior roles with Apprenticeships Victoria, Manufacturing Skills Australia, the Transport and Logistics Industry Skills Council, the Canberra Institute of Technology and the Department of Defence.

Commissioner Baker will provide the keynote address, examining South Australia’s skills system, current workforce pressures and the roles of employers, training providers, workers and government.

Chris Carman

Chief Executive Officer, Workinitiatives

Chris Carman has more than 20 years of experience across workforce strategy, technology and policy.

He works with government, industry and communities on employment, skills and talent pipeline solutions.

Chris will present the Workinitiatives model and examine how workforce technology may help connect employers, jobseekers, training providers, industry bodies, governments and regions.

The presentation will also consider the evidence, governance and assurance required before a workforce platform can operate as trusted public-purpose infrastructure.

Sam Dighton

Chief Executive, Committee for Adelaide

Sam Dighton brings extensive domestic and international experience across legal, corporate, infrastructure and strategic government roles.

His executive experience includes senior positions with ElectraNet and Renewal SA, supported by Australian and international qualifications and executive education.

Sam will contribute a city and economic development perspective, examining how workforce attraction and retention connect with Adelaide’s growth, competitiveness, housing, infrastructure and future industry ambitions.

The Workforce System Question

The workforce debate is frequently reduced to the headline that there are not enough skilled people.

The underlying challenge is more complex.

Different industries, regions and employers may be experiencing different combinations of:

  • Genuine shortages of qualified workers

  • Skills mismatches

  • Geographic and workforce mobility barriers

  • Limited employer recruitment capacity

  • Uncompetitive employment conditions

  • Poorly defined roles

  • Weak connections between training and employment

  • Difficulty recognising transferable capability

  • Limited workforce participation

  • Housing and settlement constraints

  • Fragmented employment and migration systems

  • Incomplete or inaccessible workforce data

This session will examine how those different pressures should be identified and addressed rather than assuming that one policy, programme or technology platform can solve every workforce problem.

From Jobs Platform to Trusted Workforce Infrastructure

Digital platforms can help employers reach candidates, improve the visibility of vacancies, connect people with training and provide better workforce information.

However, a workforce platform also raises important questions about trust and governance.

The discussion will consider:

  • Who owns employer, candidate and platform activity data

  • Whether users and partners can export their information

  • How employers and job advertisements are verified

  • How scams, impersonation and misleading listings are addressed

  • How personal information is protected

  • What cybersecurity assurance is required

  • How systems connect with employer and training platforms

  • How duplicate data silos can be avoided

  • What happens if a platform provider or funding arrangement ends

  • How continuity of access and service should be protected

  • What evidence should be required before public or industry endorsement

These issues become increasingly important when a commercial platform begins to perform a wider public, industry or regional workforce function.

Skills, Migration and Participation

The session will also explore how South Australia can combine:

  • Local education and training

  • Apprenticeships and vocational pathways

  • Higher education

  • Workforce participation

  • Interstate attraction

  • Regional mobility

  • Skilled migration

  • Employer-led capability development

  • Recognition of overseas and transferable qualifications

  • Career development and retention

No single pathway should substitute for investment in the others.

A resilient workforce strategy must support local capability development while also enabling employers and regions to attract the people and specialist skills they require.

Building a More Inclusive Workforce

The discussion will consider how workforce systems can better recognise and connect the capability of:

  • Young people entering the workforce

  • Women entering non-traditional industries

  • Veterans and first responders

  • Skilled migrants

  • People with disability

  • Older and experienced workers

  • Regional candidates

  • People returning to work

  • Workers moving between industries

  • Candidates with transferable but non-traditional experience

Better recognition of existing capability can help employers fill roles while also reducing unnecessary barriers for candidates.

A Practical South Australian Opportunity

The briefing will consider whether South Australia could test a more connected workforce approach through:

  • A priority industry

  • A regional workforce initiative

  • A major project pipeline

  • A priority workforce cohort

  • A cross-sector Adelaide initiative

  • An industry and training partnership

  • A digital workforce platform pilot

Any pilot would need clear governance, defined responsibilities, independent assurance and measurable outcomes.

Potential measures could include:

  • Employer participation and repeat use

  • Verified and current vacancies

  • Time to shortlist and fill positions

  • Candidate registration and application completion

  • Training and pathway referrals

  • Participation by priority cohorts

  • Employer and candidate trust

  • Platform availability and continuity

  • Data portability and interoperability

  • Sustained employment outcomes

  • Cost-effectiveness

  • Regional and industry outcomes

Who Should Attend

This event is relevant to:

  • Employers and business owners

  • Industry associations

  • Human resources professionals

  • Recruitment and workforce leaders

  • Education and training providers

  • Universities and vocational education providers

  • Apprenticeship organisations

  • Government agencies

  • Local government

  • Regional development organisations

  • Migration and settlement professionals

  • Major project proponents

  • Defence and advanced manufacturing organisations

  • Construction and infrastructure businesses

  • Health and care providers

  • Hospitality and tourism operators

  • Technology and workforce platform providers

  • Community organisations

  • Economic development professionals

  • Professional advisers

  • People involved in workforce policy and planning

Registration

Attendance is limited and advance registration is required.

Registration is required for entry. Guests who have not registered may not be admitted.

Register now to secure your place at the Jobs, Skills & Migration Briefing Session.

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