Professor Daryll Hull, Co-Director of the Centre, announced today that a long term collaboration agreement had been reached with the Port of Newcastle in matters of employee engagement, and organisation and community development.

The Port of Newcastle is a major exporting facility for Australia. It has a long history of supporting regional and national economic goals. The people who work there have a wide range of backgrounds and technical experience ranging from marine survey work, dredge operations, wharf management, commercial contracting, community participation and more.

The Centre for Workforce Futures will be working with everyone at the Port to examine the nature and direction of the Port in the coming decade, and providing an independent view of their operations, and spending time with the workforce to gain their perspective on the business.

It is anticipated that the agreement will eventually reach out to regional stakeholders in the Hunter Valley generally, as the Port is a key pivot for a wide range of mining, farming, tourism and commercial services activities. Local education and research institutions will be included in the agreement where possible.

Professor Hull stated ‘this agreement marks a positive step in external engagement for the Centre, the Faculty of Business and Economics, and the University as a whole. The potential for research encompasses a number of disciplines across the campus. The Hunter Region is only 2 hours’ drive from Sydney, and millions of people visit it every year, and many people from elsewhere are now making the region their home. The potential research opportunities are significant and can only increase in the coming years. A collaborative approach to our work is common-sense’.

Dr Daryll Hull
Professor, Faculty of Business and Economics
Co-Director, Centre for Workforce Futures