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Latrobe Valley Industries Worksheet

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Latrobe Valley Industries Worksheet

Read the local industry snapshot and use the data to investigate how industries create jobs, use resources and affect a region. Show working for calculations. All figures in the snapshot are fictional classroom data, not current employment statistics.

Local industry snapshot

The Latrobe Valley in Gippsland, Victoria, has a long history of electricity generation using brown coal. The region also has jobs in healthcare, education, retail, farming, food production and construction. Industries are connected: a hospital buys food and equipment, while local businesses may provide services to power stations and farms. Changes in technology, consumer demand and government decisions can affect which industries grow or shrink. A worker whose job changes may need training to move into a different role.

Industry

Workers

Annual output value

Example local input

Electricity generation

600

$180 million

Skilled technicians

Healthcare

1,200

$90 million

Trained staff

Food production

300

$45 million

Farm produce

The regional planning challenge

A fictional company plans to reduce its electricity-generation workforce by 120 positions over three years as equipment and energy sources change. A proposal would offer affected workers paid training for jobs in electrical maintenance, solar installation or local construction. The training costs money and takes time, but could help workers find new employment. Meanwhile, local shops and services may also be affected if fewer workers spend wages nearby.

1.From the industry snapshot, name two industries in the Latrobe Valley other than electricity generation. (2 marks)

2.In economics, an input is a resource used to produce a good or service. Which example in the data is an input for food production? (1 mark)

Farm produce
Trained hospital staff
Electricity customers
Retail shops

3.Calculate the annual output value per worker for healthcare and for food production. Show each calculation, then state which is higher. (3 marks)

4.The output value per worker is not the same as a worker’s wage. Give one reason why these figures might differ. (2 marks)

5.Select the best explanation of why fewer electricity workers could affect local shops. (1 mark)

Some workers may have less income to spend at local businesses.
Shops must immediately become electricity generators.
Every shop worker will automatically lose their job.
Local businesses do not depend on customers.

6.A worker can spend the same training budget on either electrical maintenance or solar installation. Choosing one means giving up the other. What is the opportunity cost of choosing solar installation training? (2 marks)

7.Name one possible benefit and one possible cost of the paid retraining proposal for workers or the region. (2 marks)

8.A worker says, “The region should support only the industry with the largest output value per worker.” Give one reason this may be a poor way to decide which industries to support. (2 marks)

9.True or false: Healthcare creates no economic value because it does not make a physical product. Explain your choice. (2 marks)

10.Recommend one practical action a local council, employer or training provider could take to help the region respond to industry change. Explain how it could help. (3 marks)