The Business Council of Australia (BCA) welcomes the opportunity to provide a submission to the House Standing Committee on Education for its Inquiry into Building Asia Capability in Australia through the education system and beyond.
At a time of global economic uncertainty, the need to diversify and strengthen Australia’s trade and investment relationships across Asia has never been greater. Australian companies require a workforce that has a sophisticated understanding of Asian markets, backed with the cultural intelligence, language skills, trusted relationships and professional experience to manage risks and seize opportunities.
Notwithstanding Australia’s cultural diversity, the level of second language learning and Asian studies in Australia’s education system is not commensurate with the scale of Australia’s regional engagement opportunities.
As outlined in our submission, the challenge around Asia Capability is not simply about the supply of education offerings in schools and universities and their limited uptake, but also about ensuring Asia is legible to the next generation of Australian business leaders and that they have the skills to execute on the opportunities.
For many BCA members with outward facing businesses, recruiting employees with experience engaging Asia and upskilling existing staff is already considered a commercial priority. The BCA’s submission outlines why Asia Capability should be recast as a core workforce and professional capability issue for the Australian business community. It makes nine recommendations geared to shifting a prevailing culture of underinvestment in Asia-focused skillsets, leveraging the role of business to signal their value and playing to Australia’s strengths as a multicultural community.