Thousands of new jobs will be up for grabs in Far North Queensland thanks to the Palaszczuk Government's $967 million capital works program, set to be outlined today at an FNQ business forum held at Cairns Convention Centre.
Assistant Minister for State Development Julieanne Gilbert said the 11th annual Far North Queensland Regional Projects Forum would inform local companies about the many significant opportunities coming to the region.
"The Palaszczuk Government is delivering increased spending of $967 million on capital works in Far North Queensland during the current financial year," Mrs Gilbert said.
"This is a 24 per cent increase from last year's $779.7 million, providing even more opportunities for local construction companies and workers to be part of key projects benefitting Far North Queensland communities.
"It's expected about 3300 jobs will be directly generated from the capital works spending, up 27 per cent from last year.
"More than 200 people from regional businesses involved with the construction sector and associate supply chains are expected to attend this year's forum."
To help local businesses plan their workflows, the Department of State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning has produced the FNQ major projects pipeline booklet.
This provides an analysis of upcoming projects and a construction industry jobs-flow analysis from Construction Skills Queensland, and will be available at the forum.
Construction Skills Queensland Director of Evidence, Data and Innovation Robert Sobyra said the forum enabled the Queensland Government and local industry to work together, to the benefit of local businesses, workers and the community.
"The forum is an excellent platform to inform local businesses about upcoming supply chain opportunities and connect with the teams behind these major projects," Mr Sobyra said.
"We're pleased to contribute by providing a construction industry outlook and analysis of the job flows expected to be generated, so local businesses can plan their workforce needs."
Projects to be discussed at the forum include:
- Cairns Convention Centre expansion
- Trinity Wharf Cairns
- Cairns Hospital Mental Health Unit
- Cairns South Health Facility
- Cairns Southern Access Corridor
- Smithfield Bypass roadworks
- FNQ school classroom refurbishments and construction
- Adventure- and nature-based tourism projects
