These eight economic sectors are the key to future job and business growth in Redlands.
Read the Economic Development Framework for more detailed statistics on the performance of these sectors.
Health care and social assistance
The health care and social assistance industry contributes strongly to the Redlands economy and has a large and growing workforce with significant potential for industry investment and expansion.
Growth in the city’s largest employment sector is expected to continue above national averages, with the city well placed to become a leader in health, aged care and medical services, attracting highly educated workers.
Council adopted the Redland City Health Care and Social Assistance Industry Sector Plan 2018-2023 [PDF, 1.1MB], which highlights initiatives and actions to support economic growth and local employment opportunities. It also recognises the role of other levels of government, industry, health and technology experts and Council’s responsibility, leading to more investment in the sector and wider economic benefits.
This Health Care and Social Assistance Industry Sector Plan focuses on the areas of
- Workforce attraction and development
- Business capacity and organisational sustainability
- Innovation opportunities in the aged and health care sector
- Partnerships and international linkages
Education and training
Redland City enjoys a competitive advantage in this sector—particularly primary and secondary education—and has a strong reputation for quality.
The industry contributes strongly to the city’s economic capacity and its impact is two pronged: first, the direct economic impact (on employment and output) from the education and training industry itself; and second, the economic impact through enhancing the skills of workers in all industries which will affect productivity and levels of income.
Council adopted the Education and Training Industry Sector Plan 2018-2023 [PDF, 1.0MB] which will focus on three areas:
- Fostering collaboration and strategic partnerships
- Growing higher education and alternative learning pathways and supporting emerging industries
- Growing international education
Rural enterprises
While the amount of wealth this sector brings the city is declining, there has been substantial growth in subsectors such as plant nurseries and cut flower production. This suggests they could potentially be export generators.
The Redlands is ideally placed to seize newly identified agricutural food production trends like vertical garden horticulture and low-impact, high value production such as fly farming.
Council adopted the Redlands Coast Rural Enterprise Industry Sector Plan 2019-2024 [PDF 1.2MB] which will focus on the following three objectives:
- Investigating opportunities to support local rural enterprises
- Attracting Investment in rural enterprises industry sector
- Increase research and development opportunities and foster innovation in rural enterprises
Tourism (accommodation and food services)
Our two gateways to Moreton Bay—Cleveland’s Toondah Harbour and Redland Bay’s Weinam Creek—have the potential to drive significant tourism and employment development.
As priority development areas, they will offer:
- world-class infrastructure
- the ability to boost international tourism
- increased visitor numbers, capitalising on the city’s position between Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
See the Redland City Tourism Strategy and Action Plan 2015-2020 [PDF, 7.5MB],
Construction
Construction remains the city’s largest contributor to gross regional product and one of the largest employers.
Regional stimulus through government infrastructure and construction investment, local construction activity on new housing estate developments currently underway and the priority development areas at Toondah Harbour and Weinam Creek over the next five years will counter any construction shortfall driven by lower-than-expected South East Queensland population growth.
High value-add services
This group of sectors incorporates services from scientific to architectural, legal and accounting to engineering, advertising, veterinary, IT, banking, credit and insurance. This group is expected to grow strongly and may be an even larger export generator for Redland City.
Manufacturing
Manufacturing could become a leader in terms of continued export potential on the back of:
- new technology
- productivity improvements through more capital-intensive work methods
- a decline in traditional labour-intensive manufacturing industries.
Fluctuation in the Australian dollar’s value, associated with declining commodity prices and historically low interest rates, may assist exports in this sector.
Retail trade
This sector is one of the city’s biggest employers, particularly of young people, and will continue to serve the population. However, potential also exists for small local enterprises to take advantage of the digital disruption affecting the sector nationwide.
Rejuvenation of the Cleveland and Capalaba business districts will remain a focus.