The case for transformational economic change in the face of the automotive industry’s approaching collapse

With every passing day we’re another step closer to the end of automotive manufacturing in Australia. But before that fateful day arrives we must, as a society, make a critical choice.

Will we merely attempt to shift our existing skill-sets into the closest-match industry available and cross our fingers that jobs will materialise? Or will we boldly reposition ourselves to take advantage of emerging global opportunities?

This important presentation will show which way the evidence points. Drawing on national and international case studies of past large-scale industrial closures, Associate Professor John Spoehr will make the case for transformational economic change.

You’ll hear how this process has successfully prevented industrial heartlands becoming industrial deserts and avoided escalating unemployment. And ultimately, why a high-skill, knowledge intensive pathway to growth offers us the prospect of a higher, rather than lower, standard of living.

The presenter

Associate Professor John Spoehr heads The University of Adelaide’s Australian Workplace Innovation and Social Research Centre. He is also leading the establishment of the Stretton Centre – a partnership between the University, City of Playford, and the SA and Australian Governments – to integrate development in Adelaide’s north.