The City of Whittlesea has developed a new economic strategy to support a strong, innovative local economy over the next five years.
The Strong, Local Economy Strategy 2022-2026 was developed in consultation with the community, businesses, industry and educational institutions, while being guided by the Council’s long-term vision – Whittlesea 2040: A place for all.
Chair Administrator, Lydia Wilson, said the five-year plan set a vision for a strong local economy and identified priority actions that would support a prosperous and inclusive economy.
“The strategy outlines a range of actions and initiatives that will ensure the City of Whittlesea’s local economy will continue to grow and provide opportunities for local employment for our residents,” Ms Wilson said.
The strategy sets out priority actions under the following key directions:
- Increased local employment
- Education opportunities for all
- Successful, innovative local businesses
Other actions include:
- Developing an incentives package for business attraction and support
- Supporting the delivery of the Job Advocates Program
- Developing a Circular Economy Plan
- Strengthening business-to-business connection
“In conjunction with the development of the strategy, we have also developed the Strong Local Economy Action Plan 2022-2023, which outlines our commitments in the first year of the plan,” Ms Wilson said.
“We will be focusing on creating more local job opportunities by attracting businesses to set up or expand in our municipality and supporting businesses to move to innovative new approaches. As one of the fastest growing municipalities, our aim is to ensure that jobs growth matches population growth for our residents.”
The Council plans to work with partner organisations to ensure that the region’s workforce has the necessary skills to ensure future industry growth.
This will also include working with local producers to promote the area’s’s agricultural sector, and attract more visitors.
