Skilled labour shortages together with a lack of housing, energy supply, industrial relations and better infrastructure investment, particularly around defence, are among the challenges facing WA’s manufacturing sector.
Attendees at CCIWA’s latest Special Manufacturing Forum this week also noted issues associated with reliable energy supply and discussed the impact of global events on their respective industries. 
The forum, an important part of the CCIWA policy-setting process and helmed by the Policy and Advocacy team, offered robust discussion on the state of manufacturing.
CCIWA Members in attendance were also given an economic overview from CCIWA Senior Economist Sam Collins, a policy briefing from CCIWA Policy Manager Anthea Wesley and an update on the latest workplace laws from CCIWA Associate Director, HR and Workplace Relations, Ryan Martin.
Discussing labour shortages, one managing director said finding skilled workers was “tough”.
“It’s probably harder than it’s ever been,” they said.
This sentiment was shared by another attendee who noted that they were “struggling to recruit anyone at the moment”, adding that housing shortages exacerbated the issue.
“You can change the policy settings for bringing workers in but if you have nowhere to put them, there’s another set of policy settings that need to be adjusted or assisted to make that happen,” they said.
The need for reliable energy supply amid the transition to greener power was also highlighted, noting that access to reliable and affordable energy underpins the competitiveness of existing businesses and the industries of the future.
The forum also discussed ongoing supply chain disruptions, the role of artificial intelligence and the issues of competing with locally produced products in a highly competitive export market.
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