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Business Survey Gives Valley-Wide SnapshotThe 2012 Latrobe City Council Employment and Industry Survey report has now been finalised. Completed every two years By Latrobe City - 26th June 2012 - Back to News , the survey provides a snapshot of local business confidence, employment growth and future skills requirements.
The survey was conducted with Wellington Shire Council and Baw Baw Shire Council, along with the Victorian Government in order to develop a comprehensive economic snapshot of the entire Latrobe Valley.
Latrobe City Council’s mayor, Councillor Ed Vermeulen, said that this year results from the Latrobe City survey showed that businesses were generally optimistic about the future.
"For the current financial year, most respondents anticipate a more optimistic outlook than previous years, with 45% anticipating an increase in turnover (compared to 40% in 2011), 23% of businesses expected no change and 32% of businesses anticipate a decline in turnover (compared to 35% in 2011).
"For the next financial year, businesses are more optimistic with 56% of respondents anticipating an increase in turnover," Cr Vermeulen explained.
"When asked about capital investment, 18% of respondents were anticipating capital investments of up to $5 million in the next two financial years. When compared with the 2010 survey, the number of businesses planning future investment had dropped from 20% in 2010 to 18% in 2012. However the number of businesses planning investment of over $2 million has increased. The 2012 data shows a higher percentage of larger scale developments when compared with 2010.
"This future planning is exciting news as it shows many of our local business are optimistic about the future," Cr Vermeulen said.
Latrobe City Council’s general manager economic sustainability, Allison Jones, said questions about the introduction of the carbon tax led to some negativity, but overall the responses to the survey were generally positive.
"When asked about the future impact of the carbon tax, 39% of respondents believed a carbon tax would have a strong negative impact on their business and a further 21% believed it would have a slight negative impact, 20% were undecided and 11% felt it would not have an impact on their business. The retail trade sector was the highest level of respondents expressing a perceived negative impact.
"Conversely, 4% thought a carbon tax would have a strong positive impact and a further 4% thought it would have a slight positive Impact.
"With regards to training needs, businesses indicated that vocational related courses were a priority, such as licences, and certificates across a range of sectors such as customer service, business administration, information technology (IT) and retail.
"The survey was conducted prior to the recent announcement of TAFE funding cuts, so we can see that any loss of vocational related training has the potential to impact on future training needs of local businesses," Ms Jones said.
Ms Jones added that as the survey results have been collated Council has become better placed to identify areas of priority for local industry.
"This allows more suitable training programs to be made available to businesses with the information useful in informing Council to make appropriate policy decisions for a low carbon future.
"The data gathered will be used for input into the Latrobe Valley Industry and Employment Roadmap, a Victorian Government initiative to deliver a clear and achievable plan for new industry and investment and assist in securing long-term employment for the Latrobe Valley," Ms Jones said.
Cr Vermeulen said that it was vital to the future of our region to gather this information.
"This economic snapshot will inform policy makers at all levels of government as to how our local economy is tracking ahead of the low carbon transition," Cr Vermeulen concluded.
The survey report is now available on Council’s website with hard copies available on request. To obtain a copy, please call John Bettson on (03) 5128 5659 or email John.Bettson@latrobe.voc.gov.au.
Media Enquiries:
Latrobe City mayor, Councillor Ed Vermeulen
Telephone: 0428 148 585
Latrobe City deputy mayor, Councillor Sharon Gibson
Telephone: 0429 338 762
Media Relations Office
Telephone: 5128 5458 or 0409 797 498
For general enquiries, contact Latrobe City Council on 1300 367 700.
Source: http://gippsland.com/ Published by: news@gippsland.com
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