Innovation hubs can be hothouses for talent growth

ACCORDING to the latest talent shortage survey, more than a third of Australia’s employers are struggling to fill vacancies.

The survey, conducted by global recruitment giant Manpower Group, found that the problem is even more pronounced in medium and largesize companies – more than 40 per cent of these organisations face challenges in hiring suitable staff.

Worldwide, talent shortages have reached a 12-year peak, with global companies competing to hire the most competent and creative people. To remain competitive, Australian businesses need to find new ways of attracting the brightest and the best.

Setting up innovation hubs is one solution, as they create talent pools that companies can draw from. Cities like San Francisco, Boston, Beijing, Paris, Tokyo and Seoul have attracted the world’s top talent because of their vibrant enterprise hubs.

Germany has 12 hubs for digital innovation distributed throughout the country. It is no coincidence that more than three-fourths of all patent applications are filed by the US, China, Japan, Korea and the European Union.

Australia has woken up to the importance of innovation hubs. In August, the NSW Government announced plans to develop a precinct for innovation and technology in Sydney. The precinct is likely to put Sydney on the innovation world map, greatly increase available talent and accelerate business growth.

Melbourne has a smaller innovation centre and Brisbane’s hub, The Capital, houses around 200 start-ups. Brisbane is also home to Barayamal, Australia’s first indigenous start-up accelerator.

These Australian-grown innovation hubs will undoubtedly help in easing talent shortages and enhancing innovation and international competitiveness.

However, hubs concentrated in the main cities may not be enough to accelerate business growth nationwide or tap into the enormous potential of the regions. Regional hubs are

SETTING UP INNOVATION HUBS IS ONE SOLUTION, AS THEY CREATE TALENT POOLS THAT COMPANIES CAN DRAW FROM

needed to support business growth nationwide. One regional hub that’s making an impact is the Enterprise Lab at Southern Cross University. Based in Lismore, it promotes entrepreneurship and innovation and builds partnerships.

Creating talent clusters in the cities, supporting enterprise hubs and nurturing hothouses of innovation like Enterprise Lab in the regions will go a long way towards resolving the current talent shortage, boosting innovation and giving Australia a competitive edge.