New Caravan Manufacturing State Initiative To Help City of Whittlesea

A new State Government initiative will improve the manufacturing of caravans in Victoria and create job and training opportunities for the City of Whittlesea, a report said.

Minister for Employment Jaala Pulford announced last week 150 new jobs in caravan manufacturing as people take trips around the state following lockdowns.

Together with North Link and Caravan Industry Victoria, the government is providing on-the-job coaching at caravan makers located in the City of Whittlesea and Crusader Caravans in Epping.

The boat and caravan industry is the fourth most important manufacturing sector of Whittlesea with 41 businesses currently employing 450 workers.

Through the “earn and learn initiative”, an additional 150 employees will receive assistance and training in the areas of assembly, service and repairs, warehouse and logistics, sales, and administration to help them begin their careers.

The job opportunities will be given to the people in prioritized groups that have been the hardest hit by the pandemic, such as those with different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, the long-term unemployed, and those who are younger than 25.

Ten manufacturers have been registered and Crusader Caravans took two new staff members as part of the initiative. It is planning to increase its capacity to cater to the increasing demand from people who have been long-time caravanners as well as recent converts to mobile holidays.

It is believed the Whittlesea and Hume municipalities are considered to be the center of Australia’s caravan manufacturing industry, which includes around 20,000 caravans (90% of the Australian total) being manufactured every year.

The industry is worth $2.3 billion for the Victorian economy every year. There are around 7,500 workers from the caravan industry earning $600 million in earnings each year.

“The caravan industry is booming and this provides a great opportunity for Victorians to build a career in an industry that is really going places,” Pulford said.

“Being able to earn a wage while learning new skills and building knowledge on the job is a winning combination.”

The City of Whittlesea Chair Administrator Lydia Wilson said the announcement was a “most welcome boost for local jobs”.

“Our community has been hard hit by the pandemic and this program will boost the local economy and help local jobseekers kick start careers in the booming caravan industry,” she said.

“Earlier this year council launched an innovative plan to attract new business ventures to the City of Whittlesea and support existing businesses to grow to create more jobs for local people.”

Wilson said that the City of Whittlesea was an ideal location to conduct business, with significant competitive advantages like accessibility to major transport routes.

“We are one of Australia’s fastest growing municipalities, welcoming around 8000 new residents every 12 months but the number of new local jobs isn’t keeping up, at only 1800 a year,” she said.

“We are working to attract more medium and large-sized businesses to the City of Whittlesea, particularly in the key sectors of healthcare and social assistance, manufacturing, and wholesale trade.”

“Council is continuing to advocate to the federal and state governments and work with partner agencies including NorthLink, Northern Councils Alliance and National Growth Areas Alliance, to attract investment that will benefit our wider region.”

Caravan Industry Victoria Chief Executive Rob Lucas said the initiative is a win-win situation both for the industry as well as the local travelers.

“People are traveling again and want more of our industry’s products and this program comes at a time when our employer members need it the most,” he said.