Business Council of Australia’s Post

The UK's productivity growth has been stuck in the slow lane since 2008, even with record R&D investments. My colleague Andrew highlights the need for the UK government to focus not just on boosting innovation spending, but also on the policies that can drive growth back in the right direction. Find out more in the full article ‘The pace of business innovation in a world of change’. https://okt.to/DQaBgP #Innovation #Productivity #UKEconomy #BusinessGrowth

South Australian business confidence fell in the June quarter after three consecutive quarters of moderate growth, according to the latest survey by the South Australian Business Chamber in partnership with William Buck released today. The survey also took a deep dive into productivity, a key concern for the South Australian Business Chamber, with findings suggesting that many businesses are so focused on staying afloat that they lack the resources to invest in productivity improvements. Read the full report at https://lnkd.in/gTqWNSe7

After a few really tough years in Global Mobility, there finally seems to be light at the end of the tunnel: When working on our annual trend report, one of the most surprising insights was that we finally see things shift in a positive direction for Global Mobility. 💰 Following a time of budget cuts, there seems to be a slight optimism that this will change next year and participants indicated that 2025 budget discussions include increasing investments in Global Mobility. Even though these are still conservative estimates, the trend is finally shifting! 🛫 An influencing factor is the increase in short-term mobility and the increased complexity Global Mobility teams have to manage. We started seeing business travel being moved into the global mobility function and compliance becoming a bigger topic, which is likely a factor positively influencing the budget increases These are only two insights I wanted to highlight, you can find more in the full trend report - looking forward to hearing your feedback 👇 https://lnkd.in/eQ2hbwb6 Sharon Lion, Max Rimpel, Christoph Heckner, Silvia Navone, Donald Jurries, Lydia Erdmann, Orsolya Kovacs-Ondrejkovic, Johann Harnoss, Nicolai Wassmann, Pavlína Kopečná #globalmobility

I was very pleased to join Greg Hands last week to hear from UK and Swiss organisations about the importance of business mobility between our countries. In ongoing negotiations, we remain committed to putting services at the heart of an upgraded FTA, and it was helpful to hear about specific frictions and barriers faced by businesses on both sides. The UK and Switzerland are ambitious trade partners with big aspirations for our future relationship, as shown by the ground-breaking Bern Financial Services Agreement we signed late last year. Services market access needs to be underpinned by the ability to move people between our two countries to perform short or medium term roles, be that for graduate training scheme placements or world leading scientists in the pharmaceuticals sector moving between their UK and Swiss offices. This isn’t about migration or the permanent movement of people. It’s about fuelling economic growth through trade and the exchange of skills and expertise. After all, while holding calls on Teams is great, often an in-person meeting is what’s needed to close a deal. I’m pleased by the feedback from businesses on the success of the Services Mobility Agreement in continuing to help make this happen. These talks are an opportunity to lock in long-term certainty on business mobility for vital UK sectors such as finance, tech and life sciences, building on current arrangements where possible. We are committed to continue the dialogue with businesses as the negotiation continues, in order to do what we can to deliver improvements to the bilateral trading relationship on services. As always, please do reach out to me and my team at ch.fta.engagement (at) businessandtrade.gov.uk if you would like to feed in your views, experiences and priorities.

How can UK businesses better collaborate to share best practices, foster innovation, and boost productivity, strengthening the UK's global competitiveness and driving economic growth? Thank you, Charlotte Hill, for this week’s Business Bulletin question. Read our vocL voices’ FULL answers here: https://lnkd.in/etXXSCqk Featuring Fhaheen A Khan, Sion Lewis, Richard Sansom, Cathrine Scowcroft, Kareema Hilton CEng MIMechE, Andrew Gall. How would you answer this question? #vocL #UKBusiness #ResponsibleBusiness 

Developing a comprehensive international business strategy and market entry plan is vital for small businesses venturing into global markets. This involves identifying target markets, understanding the competitive landscape, evaluating potential risks, and formulating a strategic approach to market entry. By formulating a well-defined international business strategy, small businesses can minimize uncertainties, make informed decisions, and seize opportunities for growth and expansion. IBS Global Consulting offers tailored advice and guidance, helping small businesses develop strategic plans for international expansion. Contact us today to learn more. https://lnkd.in/eEABn9m #ThinkGlobal #IBSGlobalConsulting #SmallBusiness #BusinessExpansion #MarketEntry #GrowthStrategy #GoGlobal 

New Zealand’s productivity growth is low compared with other OECD countries. Increasing productivity will drive income growth and better living standards. Increasing investment in R&D and technology will enable New Zealand businesses to increase their productivity and economic growth. NZIER has partnered with Spark for Business to encourage New Zealand businesses to accelerate one technology generation forward and increase productivity. Link to our report https://hubs.ly/Q02l-xs90 Link to Spark's article https://hubs.ly/Q02l-K-q0 Jason Shoebridge, Christina Leung, CFA, Philippa Miller Moore

Interesting papers in this issue of the International Productivity Monitor: Symposium on International Productivity Growth: The Role of Intangibles "The issue features a symposium of three articles on international productivity performance with a particular focus on the role of intangible capital." https://lnkd.in/exM4ZFtC

Business Council Chief Executive Bran Black spoke with FIVEAA’s Matthew Pantelis on Wednesday about Australia’s flagging productivity. Productivity is a long-term issue and the BCA’s new report ‘Australia’s flagging productivity and competitiveness’ is about sparking a conversation about how we can maintain our high standard of living. We need action and a national conversation about how we can collectively boost productivity and ensure our economy is globally competitive. Link here: https://bit.ly/48Won9O

🌟 The Singapore Business Federation (SBF) is proud to share the 📜speech made by our Deputy Honorary Treasurer and Nominated Member of Parliament Mr Mark Lee in Parliament on 26 February, as he shared his views about Budget 2024.    Mr Lee highlighted 3 main areas that Budget 2024 focuses on.   1. Advancing Business and Workers capabilities 🚀 - The Enterprise Support Package - Permanent increase of the SME Working Capital Loan cap to $500,000 - SkillsFuture Level Up Programme, and extension of the SkillsFuture Enterprise Credit   2. Building for the future 🏗️ - $2 billion top-up to the Financial Sector Development Fund - Refundable Investment Credit - Enhanced Partnerships for Capability Transformation (PACT)   3. Caring for Society 👨👩👧👦 - Enhanced Assurance Package - Improving the affordability of preschools and special education schools, enhancements to retirement support schemes, introduction of a new unemployment support scheme - ITE Progression Award   Mr Lee also gave a few recommendations to further improve.   🎓 Training should extend beyond introductory topics to include advanced technical domains, and sector-specific modules - To further enhance employability and cultivate a skilled workforce, more emphasis on workplace training is needed. Workplaces should be qualified as extensions of our Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), so that learning can be more practice-based and application-oriented.   ♻️ Drive innovation in new areas of AI and sustainability within our SMEs - To support SMEs in adopting new technologies, the government should consider implementing a tiered grant model. - To support SMEs in sustainability efforts, more assistance and education are essential.   🌱A continual call for responsible labour growth to sustain Singapore’s growth ambitions - Given our aging population and persistently low birth rates, while businesses continue to reskill and upskill our local workforce, we can work closely with government to identify and unlock untapped manpower pockets.   🤝 Government to engage with the business’ community more closely - Work together with various government agencies and unions with the aim to reduce bureaucratic complexity and expedite efficiency towards co-curating a conducive environment that fosters business competitiveness.   Speech on conducive environment for business competitiveness: https://lnkd.in/gesJb-b4   We express gratitude to Mr Lee for speaking out on behalf of Singapore's business community in Parliament. 👏   #SBF #SBF2024 #SBFNMP #SBFBusinesses #SGBusinesses