aligning Lithgow’s future industry development with its current comparative strengths. With the areas being considered for redevelopment being well spaced and away from residential areas, according to Edgecombe, it presents a “really good opportunity to bring heavy industry and advance manufacturing to those particular locations because they won’t conflict with existing land usage.” However, to secure these long-term opportunities, land availability is just one challenge. Lithgow is also focusing on creating an Adaptive Skills Hub within its central business district in order to develop the adaptive capacity of its workforce of tomorrow – its children. Housed in a former Centrelink building, this hub aims to provide a seamless educational pathway from kindergarten through to tertiary studies. “This way, people will have the opportunity to build and create ties back to this community and continue to study and work locally as well. So we’re really trying to address a systemic problem of people having to pursue opportunity elsewhere and create those really important community connections locally,” Edgecombe states. By partnering with institutions like Western Sydney University (WSU) Charles Sturt University, the University of South Australia and Notre Dame University, and establishing a Regional University Study Hub, the initiative seeks to strengthen ties between residents and the local economy, reducing the outflow of talent to other regions. Education is a cornerstone of Lithgow’s strategy for economic transition. Historically, the town’s workforce has leaned heavily toward vocational education, with strong participation in apprenticeships and 65 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 07, ISSUE 01 CITY OF LITHGOW COUNCIL
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