Media release | 12 March 2018
The NSW Government has hit back at claims made today about the Jobs for NSW job creation agency’s performance, saying the $190 million Jobs for NSW Fund is on track to create almost 20,000 jobs for the state by 2021/22.
Acting CEO of Jobs for NSW Geoff White said Jobs for NSW is investing in the long term future of the state with a $190 million Fund run by an independent Board which includes some of the nation’s best business minds and which is led by former Telstra CEO David Thodey.
“The claims made today are misleading – to suggest that investments like this generate jobs overnight is to completely misunderstand how business works,” Mr White said.
Jobs for NSW Chair David Thodey said Jobs for NSW products and investments are about creating sustainable jobs and about making sure the Jobs for NSW Fund can become self-sustaining over time.
“Our investments through Jobs for NSW were never intended to be short term sugar hits – they will take a few years to realise fully their job creation targets,” Mr Thodey said.
“Instead of using the $190 million to hand over cash in the form of one-off grants, the Board and team at Jobs for NSW have developed innovative products, services and investments that support startups and companies to create jobs over the long term, including:
- the nation’s biggest single startup location – the Sydney Start Up Hub - where 2,500 innovative people will work to create jobs and industries of the future;
- loan products to offer companies capital to invest in growing jobs in NSW and which are recycled back to the Fund, providing more taxpayer bang for buck;
- a direct equity investment product developed in partnership with a leading superannuation fund to invest in companies growing their workforce in NSW;
- in new industry precincts like Westmead, one of the largest health, research and education precincts in the world.
The NSW Government set a target of creating 150,000 by 2019. That target has been smashed, with almost 250,000 jobs (246,000) created in NSW between April 2015 and January 2018 (Australian Bureau of Statistics).
Jobs for NSW is one agency contributing to the overall Government job creation target and the latest forecast is that Jobs for NSW will support or generate almost 20,000 jobs by 2021/22
“The NSW Government, through Jobs for NSW, is making the smart investments needed to create the businesses and jobs of the future for the people of NSW,” Mr Thodey said.