Key Focus Area: Education & Workforce projects in the Hume Region
Over the past decade, the Hume region has consistently underperformed in the area of education compared to metropolitan Melbourne. In most years, Hume has been the lowest performing Victorian region in relation to Year 7-12 school retention rates.
Recent figures obtained from OnTrack statistics for 2010 Year 12 graduates in the Hume Region indicate that 67% of graduates applied for a tertiary place (including university and TAFE/VET). 94% of these graduates were successful in obtaining a place while about 20% of those successful chose to defer. This rate is double that of the 10% state average for deferrals.
Workers in the regions outside Melbourne are less likely to hold post-school qualifications. To end 2010, 14% of workers in the Goulburn-Murray-Ovens area held a Bachelors degree or higher qualification, compared to 28% in Melbourne. The amount of workers in the Goulburn-Murray-Ovens area holding Certificate III/IV of higher VET qualifications was slightly higher than the Melbourne and Victorian averages at 28%. 48% of workers in the Goulburn-Murray-Ovens area had no post school qualification, compared to 39% in Melbourne.
In 2011, the Goulburn-Ovens-Murray area was the second largest employing area in regional Victoria, with 143,300 workers employed. Over the year to November 2010, Goulburn-Murray-Ovens was the second strongest area of employment growth, with an increase of 5.9%, or 8000 jobs. Most jobs in regional Victoria are in the areas Retail Trade, Health Care and Social Assistance and Construction (Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations: Australian Jobs 2011).
The Hume RDA is currently supporting the delivery of a key workforce project in conjunction with the Hume Workforce Development Committee:
The Hume Workforce Development Committee comprises membership from local government, education training providers and key commonwealth and state representatives.
Key contacts for the Committee are:
Rowena Allen (Chair), Skills Victoria
Glenda Hall, Department of Business and Innovation
Julie Tyndall, Local Employment Coordinator
Kim Ivey, Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations
Please contact the Hume RDA Committee rda.hume@rdv.vic.gov.au for further information about the project or the Hume Workforce Development Committee.
