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Can 500,000 'new-collar' jobs turn manufacturing around in Australia?

Australian manufacturing jobs were down 6.7 per cent over the last five years, and the sector only contributes 5.6 per cent to GDP despite some $4.6 billion of investment, according to new research by professional services firm EY.

Key points: Andrew Liveris, who has advised the Trump and Obama administrations, says public-private partnerships in manufacturing could create thousands of "new-collar workers" in Australia CSIRO boss Larry Marshall says science used in fighting coronavirus could lead to new jobs There are plans to build a new hydrogen plant in Tasmania to create jobs Even before COVID-19 exposed weaknesses in globalised supply chains, Australian manufacturing was failing to keep pace with countries like Israel, Singapore and South Korea, EY's chief economist Jo Masters said.

"It's a sector that has become a smaller employer, a smaller part of our economy over the last few years," Ms Masters told 7.30 as part of a new series on the education and jobs of Australia in 2025.


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