Aviation and Aerospace - Invest Victoria

Victoria provides fair, collaborative, productive and
innovative workplaces, with low levels of industrial
disputes. Australia ranks number one for ease of
employing workers in the World Bank’s Doing Business
2010 report reflecting the ease of hiring, flexibility of
hours, ease of redundancy and low redundancy costs.
World-class infrastructure
Victoria-based businesses are connected to
global markets via world-class infrastructure
including Australia’s largest container port and
Melbourne’s 24-hour international airport.
Transport networks
Melbourne Airport is the gateway to southern
Australia. Twenty-three international carriers operate
direct from Melbourne, including Qantas, United
Airlines, Emirates, Singapore Airlines and British
Airways with almost 500 international flights a week.
Six domestic airlines – Qantas, Regional Express,
Skywest and low-cost carriers Jetstar, Virgin Blue and
Tiger Airways – offer over 400 daily flights.
AVIATION AND AEROSPACE – Melbourne, Australia 2010
A skilled and innovative workforce
Victoria’s diverse pool of highly skilled
workers offers industry a fusion of energy,
creativity and ability.
Victoria is home to over 5.4 million people, 42% of whom
are under 35 years old. With a population of four million
people, Melbourne is Australia’s fastest growing capital
city a title it has held for eight years in a row.
Victoria has a labour force of 2.7 million and its aviation
and commercial aerospace sector directly employs over
22,000 people.
Melbourne boasts a skilled, creative, educated and
multicultural workforce, a clear plus for international
companies. Melburnians come from more than 200
countries, and over half were either born overseas or
have a parent who was born overseas. More than a
quarter of Melburnians speak a language other than
English at home. There are 21 primary languages spoken
in Melbourne homes, including six Asian languages.
Victoria has nine world-class universities, eight of
which are in Melbourne’s central business district.
These are complemented by an extensive range of
vocational training colleges and regional university
campuses. Victoria produces the largest number of
engineering and related graduates in Australia each
year, over 4,500 in 2009. Fifty-nine per cent of the
workforce hold post secondary school qualifications
and 31% possess university qualifications.
Strategically located in the Asia Pacific, flying time
from Melbourne to Singapore is shorter than New York
to London.
The Port of Melbourne is the largest and busiest port
in the southern hemisphere handling around 37% of
Australia’s annual container trade. With 24/7 operations,
it has the lowest wharfage charges in Australia and more
than 3,500 commercial ship calls each year.
Telecommunications
Businesses setting up in Melbourne can be assured
of outstanding telecommunications services, with
connections to the world via a network of satellites and
submarine fibre optic cables that ensure seamless global
business links.
Victoria’s extensive fibre optic broadband infrastructure
supports firms that require ultra high broadband speeds.
Real estate
Melbourne is a highly competitive global business
location in terms of the cost and availability of
commercial property, offering affordable, easily
accessible and well-serviced office space and industrial
land to accommodate all industry sectors. IBM Plant
Location International rated Melbourne number
one for availability of hangars in a March 2010
benchmarking study.
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