Building Capability in the Next Generation Workforce for Northern Australia
Tracks
Concurrent Room 4
| Thursday, August 6, 2026 |
| 3:40 PM - 4:00 PM |
| Concurrent Room 4 |
Overview
Margie Atkinson, Atkinson Consulting
Details
1. Capability grows through real experience, not theory alone. The next-generation Northern workforce needs authentic, scalable, student-led experiences — such as Enactus and its peer career programs — that build people skills, judgement and confidence alongside technical knowledge.
2. Complex regional challenges require collective capability. Developing professionals who can collaborate across sectors and boundaries is essential for tackling Northern Australia’s opportunities and constraints.
3. Retention follows connection and purpose. Young professionals are more likely to stay and contribute when they build trusted peer networks, see tangible impact, and develop a sense of belonging to the North’s future.
Speaker
Ms Margie Atkinson
Director
Margie Atkinson Consulting
Building Capability in the Next Generation Workforce for Northern Australia
Presentation Overview
Northern Australia’s regional and remote context presents both major challenges and significant opportunities. Developing and retaining the next generation workforce to respond effectively requires more than technical expertise. In a labour market shaped by artificial intelligence, global uncertainty and complex social and environmental challenges, future professionals must be able to collaborate across sectors, adapt to change and build trust through real-world experience. Yet creating authentic and scalable student experiences — including relevant work-integrated learning, people-skill development and entrepreneurial training — remains difficult, particularly where industry engagement and institutional resources are limited.
This paper explores how Enactus, a global not-for-profit, extracurricular and student-led platform operating at universities in more than 33 countries (including 22 universities in Australia), provides a practical response to these challenges. Currently operating at one Northern Australian Universities Alliance institution, Enactus has significant potential for wider regional impact. Through project-based social and environmental entrepreneurship, students design and implement real ventures, develop practical skills and receive mentoring and feedback from leaders across local industry, academia and communities.
Drawing on evidence from the Enactus Global Research Network, the paper demonstrates how Enactus participation builds employability capabilities that are difficult to develop through traditional curricula alone. These include leadership, teamwork, ethical decision-making, adaptability, resilience and entrepreneurial confidence. The experiential model strengthens systems thinking and transdisciplinary collaboration while helping students apply their knowledge alongside digital and AI tools. Evidence also links participation with an improved student experience, stronger employability outcomes and faster transitions into leadership and purpose-driven roles.
The paper argues that Enactus can complement higher education programs as a scalable, student-led, evidence-based approach to developing and retaining capable young professionals. In the Northern Australia context, it offers a practical pathway to building the collaborative workforce needed to deliver long-term regional impact.
This paper explores how Enactus, a global not-for-profit, extracurricular and student-led platform operating at universities in more than 33 countries (including 22 universities in Australia), provides a practical response to these challenges. Currently operating at one Northern Australian Universities Alliance institution, Enactus has significant potential for wider regional impact. Through project-based social and environmental entrepreneurship, students design and implement real ventures, develop practical skills and receive mentoring and feedback from leaders across local industry, academia and communities.
Drawing on evidence from the Enactus Global Research Network, the paper demonstrates how Enactus participation builds employability capabilities that are difficult to develop through traditional curricula alone. These include leadership, teamwork, ethical decision-making, adaptability, resilience and entrepreneurial confidence. The experiential model strengthens systems thinking and transdisciplinary collaboration while helping students apply their knowledge alongside digital and AI tools. Evidence also links participation with an improved student experience, stronger employability outcomes and faster transitions into leadership and purpose-driven roles.
The paper argues that Enactus can complement higher education programs as a scalable, student-led, evidence-based approach to developing and retaining capable young professionals. In the Northern Australia context, it offers a practical pathway to building the collaborative workforce needed to deliver long-term regional impact.
Biography
Margie is a knowledge broker and people-focused leader. She works across government, university, industries, communities and regional economic development settings to build effective, purposeful, cross-sector coalitions that solve complex problems together. Now based in Sydney, she has lived and worked extensively in Northern Australia and understands the dynamics, needs and opportunities this very diverse region represents. She is passionate about cultivating collective action capability both with experienced leaders and people beginning their careers.
