“But we risk losing the immense opportunities from digital technologies if we don’t drive commercialisation of new technologies [such as] predictive analytics, automation of knowledge work, robotics, additive manufacturing, cloud and mobile technologies.” I found this quote in a story about the federal government funding (as part of a $100M package) for six dedicated ‘Industry Growth Centres’. It was made by Tamryn Barker, the CEO of the CORE Resources Innovation Hub. Tamryn also said, “Australian industry has to move quickly, or risk missing out [on these immense opportunities]”.
What is an Industry Growth Centre? According to the federal government Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, a Growth Centre will lead cultural change focusing on increasing collaboration and commercialisation, improving international opportunities and market access, enhancing management and workforce skills and identifying opportunities for regulatory reform. It reminded me of what a manufacturing hub (promised for Rockhampton in the last state election as part of a $30M package) is supposed to be when established, “Manufacturing hubs will support the building of knowledge capital throughout the supply chain, skilling of workers, match appropriately-skilled workers to jobs, and help employers grow their manufacturing business in areas of comparative advantage. Employers will be helped to transition employees into new manufacturing jobs. Manufacturing hubs will be developed in consultation with local businesses, industry, unions and universities. The hubs will assist businesses be more productive and achieve best-practice standards. They will also jobmatch unemployed workers and support businesses”. Okay maybe I’m the only one that would think of the similarities in these broad sweeping statements. It just so happens that one of the six Growth Centres to promote competitive strength and strategic priority in Australia is advanced manufacturing. (Another two key sectors are Food and Agribusiness and Mining Equipment, Technology and Services, Rockhampton arguably also being ideally positioned to be involved in.) Is there a way that our federal and state representatives could possibly look at what both governments are supposedly wanting to achieve and saying they have funding for, and actually get something tangible happening here as opposed to just adding to the verbose statements about innovative manufacturing practices? To say this takes time to set up isn’t good enough, especially to those who have lost jobs due to disruption and don’t have the access to the training now required (if the jobs were here to fill), as well as the ones who have to move away from our region in search of these opportunities. Let alone what Tamryn Barker warns, that we ‘risk missing out’ if we don’t move quickly. Rockhampton appears well positioned for serious funding in cultural change and innovation with Australia’s largest regional university headquartered here, a smart hub to facilitate ideas into products and services that have a global demand and a Council with a vision to be Australia’s first regional Smart City. Yet we see nothing tangible regarding Industrial Growth Centres and Manufacturing Hubs, or the accompanying cultural change needed. Perhaps, and hopefully, at higher levels action is happening. We can’t just leave this at the feet of politicians and bureaucrats though. We, as a community, need to be involved in the cultural change for the Industrial Growth Centres and Manufacturing Hubs to achieve the goals listed in the broad sweeping statements. Cultural change cannot really happen without it. Leadership is necessary to get a healthy share of these ‘cultural change’ funds and effectively inform us of the necessity and benefits, then involve us in getting behind the commercialisation of new technologies. Time is of the essence though.