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Media Release | State government-funded program helps deliver almost 1400 jobs in SA SMEs

  • February 15, 2021
    • Business Growth

At least 1,398 new jobs have been created by SMEs who attended a business growth program at the Australian Centre for Business Growth (AUCBG) under the Growing South Australia’s Companies (GSAC) program. The companies also increased their export revenue by more than $33 million and generated $51 million in company profits over the past five years.

AUCBG received a $4.2 million grant in 2016 to sponsor South Australian SMEs to attend growth programs designed and delivered by the Centre. Since then, 387 companies have attended an Assessment Clinic and 90 continued to Growth Modules, which help company CEOs and executives to plan for rapid growth.

UniSA Vice Chancellor David Lloyd said the program was highly effective at helping spur SME growth in the state.

“The small and medium companies that enrolled in the Australian Centre for Business Growth’s programs are growing rapidly, creating jobs, and generating millions of dollars in additional taxes,” he said.

“It is a testament to the potential of South Australia that our SMEs can benefit from highly effective programs right here in the state. The outcomes recorded by the Centre suggest that programs that teach company owners and managers how to grow their businesses can contribute to a healthy economy.”

Companies from all over South Australia attended the GSAC programs – from Seed Terminator in Kingscote, to Golden North Ice Cream in Laura, to Dominic Wines in the Riverland, Kelly Engineering in Booleroo, to Cohda Wireless, Consillium, Shoal, and Kojo in Adelaide. Longitudinal data collected from the companies indicates the Program has already had a positive impact on the South Australian economy and has created new jobs.

ANZ Chair in Business Growth and Director of UniSA’s Australian Centre for Business Growth Professor Jana Matthews said the State Government support enabled the delivery of Growth Workshops, Assessment Clinics and Growth Modules to companies in 17 industries across the State.

“We are delighted to be able to report that data provided by a third of these companies show that they have created 1,398 jobs, increased profit by $51 million, and increased their exports by $33 million,” she said.

“Their performance demonstrates that, once CEOs and their executive team members are given the knowledge, tools and skills, and learn how to drive growth, they become confident in their ability to grow their business. It is an honor and a privilege to help so many South Australian companies learn how to achieve their growth potential and become the job-builders our economy needs.”

Performance of SA SMEs attending GSAC Programs

+--------------------------+---------------------+--------------------+------------------+---------------------+
| Year of data collection  | Increase in Revenue | Increase in Profit | New Jobs Created | Increase in Exports |
+--------------------------+---------------------+--------------------+------------------+---------------------+
|           2016           |      $5,100,000     |     $2,100,000     |        16        |                     |
+--------------------------+---------------------+--------------------+------------------+---------------------+
|           2017           |     $29,500,000     |     $21,700,000    |        184       |                     |
+--------------------------+---------------------+--------------------+------------------+---------------------+
|           2018           |     $70,000,000     |     $2,200,000     |        726       |     $14,400,000     |
+--------------------------+---------------------+--------------------+------------------+---------------------+
|           2019           |     $73,100,000     |     $9,000,000     |        275       |     $18,400,000     |
+--------------------------+---------------------+--------------------+------------------+---------------------+
|           2020           |     $44,000,000     |     $16,000,000    |        197       |       $300,000      |
+--------------------------+---------------------+--------------------+------------------+---------------------+
|           Total          |     $221,700,000    |     $51,000,000    |       1398       |     $33,100,000     |
+--------------------------+---------------------+--------------------+------------------+---------------------+

This data was collected from 148 SA SMEs, as part of the AUCBG’s yearly longitudinal studies of company growth. The Centre has not extrapolated these findings to companies who did not respond to the survey, has not estimated the numbers of indirect jobs that have been created, and has not calculated the additional tax revenue associated with the increases in jobs, export revenue and profits – which would have generated millions of additional tax dollars.

Media Contacts:

Kicker Communications
Beroze Dubash
Email: beroze@kickercomms.com
Phone: +61 403 402 228

Kicker Communications
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Email: ash@kickercomms.com
Phone: +61 411 020 680

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