WSBC would like to see procurement processes leveraged to provide sustainable outcomes for the region and consider further legislation on local procurement for long-term support of business in the region.
Situation:
$30bn worth of investment is proposed for Western Sydney in the coming decade with some of this investment already underway and flowing through to the economy.
This is great news for the people and businesses of the West, however a key issue identified by WSBC through recent research and discussions with industry is that local Western Sydney Businesses are not necessarily getting access to work on infrastructure and other major projects that are already underway.
One of the key concerns is that local businesses are not receiving sufficient opportunities due to difficulties in joining supply chains and accessing preferred supplier lists with prime contractors the government has engaged.
Given the scale of the investment and opportunity that lies ahead it is critical for the Western Sydney economy that we address these issues.
WSBC considers this issue has two parts, firstly how can we address this as a short-term consideration, getting local supply chains working better together and ensure local Western Sydney SME’s are getting fair access now to current projects.
Secondly, how can industry in Western Sydney be properly prepared for the future to take on as much work as possible from the upcoming investment boom? Keeping this money flowing back into the Western Sydney economy should be a major focus.
Proposal:
To address the short-term issues WSBC is calling on the government to work with all current prime contractors to review their preferred supplier lists and ensure local capabilities are being considered for Western Sydney work, creating a more diverse and local supply chain. WSBC’s research showed local sub-contractor businesses clearly felt they don’t have adequate access to major projects and they need help to understand what they need to do to be considered.
To address the long-term issue, WSBC believes that due to the massive scale of investment that will take place in Western Sydney, there is a real need to significantly improve communication and consultation with local industry in Western Sydney to maximise local procurement opportunities.
Don Wright from University of Western Sydney and a board member of WSBC, stated,
“The investment that will happen in Western Sydney over the next decade is a once in a generation opportunity for local business, but we have to work with local industry to prepare them ahead of time to capitalize on this opportunity. The government needs to engage with industry now to ensure comprehensive workforce planning is undertaken and that this planning is underpinned by high quality and timely information flows from government related to major projects. Business has to know the scale of what is ahead to adequately prepare”.
To make this approach work, WSBC is calling on the government to give greater priority, urgency and status within government to work with local industry representatives, (such as WSBC, University of Western Sydney, TAFE WSi and RDA), to formulate a strategic plan to drive new employment and economic outcomes in Greater Western Sydney by harnessing procurement opportunities, particularly through the work of the new “Strategic Procurement Group”.
We would like to see the Government draw together the skills and local knowledge of organizations to leverage procurement processes to provide sustainable outcomes for the Region. It will consider areas such as; effectively disseminating information about projects, identifying the opportunities of these projects and the skills required, further mapping the skills and training needs, industry engagement, professional education requirements, supply chain collaboration and even issues such as tender development capabilities.
WSBC calls upon the government to strongly support the work of this group and the development of legislation on local procurement for long-term support of business in the region.
WSBC is encouraging the group to look specifically at five key objectives;
- Coordinate and disseminate infrastructure project information from different levels of government
- Expand on current work by some Western Sydney Councils to develop strategies for local procurement
- Undertake further research to look at other international examples of similar infrastructure booms and how regional economies have capitalised effectively
- Work with government and prime contractors to ensure the capabilities of local industry are effectively communicated and considered
- Research on skills and labour forecasting to map the future jobs and skills requirements within the region
Brendon Noney, President of WSBC stated, “Western Sydney is not looking for a handout. We just want to ensure that this massive amount of money that will be spent developing the region will flow through the local economy to create opportunities for local businesses and boost local jobs”.
