1. PEOPLE CHANGE and LEARNING IN RURAL AUSTRALIA
Rural Learning Summit
Jack Archer

2. About the Regional Australia Institute (RAI)
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About the Regional Australia Institute (RAI)
The most important people trends in regional communities
Education divide and the future of work (a bad combination)
Peoplecare?

3. Knowledge. Policy. Practice.
We gather and analyse the best information we can find on regions and make this readily accessible to people around the country
We work with regional leaders around the nation to understand their challenges and help them identify opportunities for future development that they can implement
We also talk to governments at all levels and provide independent, evidence based advice about the options they have to make regions even greater
The RAI is a not-for-profit organisation established as a public company limited by guarantee and we are an Approved Research Institute for tax purposes.
The Institute was founded in 2012 with seed funding from the Australian Government. Our current operations depend upon a mix of Commonwealth and State government support, partnerships with a range of companies and projects working directly with regions.
For more information on the RAI:

4. [IN]SIGHT - the regional competitiveness index
[IN]Sight is an online tool that:
Identifies issues and reveals previously hard-to-see patterns and trends in specific locations
Will enable effective policies to be put into place - so we can put the right help where it is needed most
Will provide us with the vital information we need to enable us to tap into the potential of the regions
Putting data back
into the hands of
regional Australia

5. Headline Trends – Regional Population is Growing

6. Population GROWTH PATTERNS
Source: 2016 Census Data

7. Regional Growth and Change – MIGRATION
Regional Australia’s population growth rate is lower because it attracts a small share of international migrants; International migration enabled 151 rural LGAs to stabilise or grow their population ( ).
Source: 2016 Census Data

8. Regional Growth and Change - Ageing
Source: 2016 Census Data

9. Regional Economies in Transition – Future of Work

10. THE EDUCATION DIVIDE

11. THE EDUCATION DIVIDE (RAI HUMAN CAPITAL INDEX)

12. THE PROBLEM HAS DIVERSE ROOTS (standard policy can’t deal with this)

13. SERVICES ‘EFFICIENCIES’ HAVE BLED LOCAL CAPACITY in rural australia
Forthcoming work: Documenting the outcomes of 30 years of health, education and employment services reform on small town services.
Early results – services professionals
Fewer doctors and more nurses (but no flexibility for nurses to do more)
Fewer psychologists (but higher rates of suicide and mental illness)
Same number of police
Same primary but fewer high school teachers
Fewer childcare workers

14. Engagement should be the priority
The Education Divide – THE KEY RESPONSE
Engagement should be the priority
“Whether you’re 8 or 88, if you’re in a regional area we want you to be engaged in learning.”

15. MITIGATING RISK THROUGH LIFELONG LEARNING
Future jobs will need more high technology digital skills, as well as entrepreneurial training to make the most of opportunities. In addition, jobs of the future will require soft skills in communication, collaboration, creativity and problem solving.

16. RURAL Learning CommunitIES – OLD IDEA NEVER EXECUTED

17. DOES RURAL AUSTRALIA NEED A PEOPLE CARE MOVEMENT?
Landcare for people issues:
Community led migration strategies
Learning communities that respond to the future of work
Engaging disadvantaged youth in the economy and community
Older worker engagement and aged care support
Government can support and invest:
Flexibility in how existing resources can be applied in small communities
Extra resources to support community effort
Facilitation and support for Peoplecare groups

18. www.regionalaustralia.org.au www.futureofwork.net.au
Thank You AND CAN YOU HELP?
Jack Archer – CEO RAI
@Archerjack
(All our work, see for
human capital index (education divide) data and publications
in partnership with Bendigo and Adelaide Bank)
(tools for kids to prepare for the future of work
in partnership with NBN Co)