Tamworth Regional Council partnership with Pacific Labour Facility helping ease labour shortages

Tamworth Regional Council (TRC), through its partnership with the Pacific Labour Facility (PLF), has been working with local businesses facing labour shortages who are unable to secure workers.

Local employers are being connected with workers from nine Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste, through the federal government supported Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme.

The partnership has already proved successful, TRC's growth and prosperity director Jacqueline O'Neill said, and council has been advocating for a regional manager position to be established here to help the scheme thrive.

"We would be one of the first regions in Australia that would have a relationship manager," she told the Leader.

"I think that's because of the success we have had in working with all levels of government and private enterprise with regards to establishing these pathways for workers from the pacific islands to come here and support our economy."

Tamworth recently hosted PLF workshops bringing together a range of employers and key community stakeholders to discuss the scheme.

Ms O'Neill, who attended on behalf of council, said the partnership has already helped a local abattoir facing staffing shortages source and support over 100 workers by providing accommodation for them at Tamworth Regional Airport.

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"We established a relationship with PLF last year, when the industry came to us and said that they were short on workers," she said.

"We worked closely with the PLF and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as well as the state government, to assist them by re-purposing our accommodation site out at the airport to house well over 100 workers.

"Those workers have been in Tamworth for several months now."

Ms O'Neill said while workers are desperately needed across all industries, the scheme focuses on unskilled positions.

"I think there's not just an unskilled workers shortage, but a skilled workers shortage as well, so this is just one avenue that we're working on," she said.

"We know that several businesses in the Tamworth region which are facing staffing shortages have recently signed up to the program and are experiencing the benefits of a reliable workforce for seasonal short term or longer-term contracts already."

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