Optimising the Benefits of the Highly Skilled, But Mobile Workforce: What Can Country Towns Do?

Many small country towns with ageing population and limited opportunities for young people are not attracting skilled workers, but have a flow of skilled people through the community as locums , seasonal workers or contractors. A sustainable highly skilled rural workforce is crucial if rural communities are to survive and thrive. Existing research concentrates on re recruitment and retention of the mobile rural workforce. Very little is known about the factors that assist in mobile skilled worker integration and encourage their contribution to the community. Country towns that make the most of the available pool of skills can increase community capacity, resilience, identification and uptake of opportunities such as new enterprises, good practice in natural resource management, enhanced ·social and leisure opportunities, and the quality and range of local services.