By Michael Page

Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue has named housing and construction at the top of its priorities, with the policies from the NSW state and federal elections to impact the region’s economy and growth.

“Construction is a major factor in Western Sydney’s economy so any major policy shifts or changes to housing, such as the banks and lending practices, are going to have serious effects on the regional economy,” Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue, Executive Director, Adam Leto told Michael Page Australia.

“We always set out to have a better understanding of what is proposed and what will be next when it comes to construction and development in the property space, as it’s going to be a pretty strong indicator of the direction that Western Sydney’s economy goes, over the next 12 to 24 months.”

He said housing and construction will always be crucial factors for the region, and therefore top the Dialogue’s policy discussions.

Leto also underscored whatever the outcomes from the elections, the independent community body has worked with both sides of government successfully since inception and will continue to do so.

“Our primary focus is to ensure the issues from both sides of government are understood, and that we have the right people in the room to be able to have a productive and hopefully successful outcome,” he said.

Commenting on the region’s employment opportunities, Michael Page Managing Director Adrian Oldham said: “We anticipate a balancing out of employment distribution in Sydney, and continued growth for Western Sydney in sectors including property, infrastructure and construction, manufacturing, sales and service-related industries.

“As Australia’s third largest economic region, Western Sydney’s contribution to the state’s bottom line is significant.”

Three key hiring trends for the property market were identified in the Michael Page “Salary Benchmark Report 2019”.

With the development market turning, job-seeking professionals are focusing more on the pipeline of works and stability, it said.

In addition, career progression and stability in organisations has become increasingly more important than remuneration.

The third trend highlighted was professionals showing a desire to be in more nimble organisations with fast career progression opportunities.

The property report also revealed the average salary increase was 5 per cent to 15 per cent when switching jobs within similar industries.

Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue was launched in early 2015 by then premier Mike Baird. It facilitates interaction between key opinion leaders across industry, government, academia and the community to inform policy debate, and advance the region’s agenda through research, advocacy and events.

To view the latest property and construction roles in Western Sydney or to find out what’s happening in the region from a hiring front, contact Michael Page.

For a copy of our Salary Benchmark Report 2019, download it here.

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