Engineers Australia has congratulated the Victorian Government on its commitment to grow priority sectors of the Victorian economy.
The Hon. Lily D’Ambrosio MP, Minister for Industry and Minster for Energy & Resources recently released strategies to grow priority sectors of the Victorian economy, Victoria’s Future Industries, and announced a $20 million Sector Growth Program to support the strategies.
Following submissions from a number of industry bodies, including Engineers Australia, the Minister highlighted the sectors primed for growth:
- Medical Technologies and Pharmaceuticals
- New Energy Technologies
- Food and Fibre
- Transport, Defence and Construction Technologies
- International Education
- Professional Services
These sectors were chosen for their potential to deliver extraordinary growth for Victoria as well as having the capacity to create high-skill, high wage jobs. Collectively, they have the potential to generate up to $70 million in additional economic output and 400,000 new jobs by 2025.
“We are helping Victorian businesses find new ways to use their skills to create new products and reach new markets so we can secure today’s jobs and create the jobs of tomorrow”, said Minister D’Ambrosio.
Glenda Graham, General Manager - Victoria, Engineers Australia welcomed the Minister’s commitment to growing these sectors, saying they “supported Engineers Australia’s call for Victoria to become a State of Successful Next Century Cities”.
“These growth areas are not limited to geographical locations and therefore the benefits of these funding programs will be felt across the entire State,” said Ms Graham.
The $20 million Sector Growth Program will provide grant funding for Victorian based projects that align with the Future Industries Sector Strategies, with up to $1 million in matched funding to support new projects.
Applicants to the Sector Growth Program must be a consortium of organisations with at least three organisations, including a lead applicant ‘whose principal place of business is in Victoria or with a significant business presence in Victoria’, and at least one Victorian Small to Medium Enterprise. Find out more about the program.