Western Sydney soars towards becoming a business district of large city levels

Western Sydney is well and truly booming. According to the Future City Minds report commissioned by Michael Page, 64% of Australian professionals believe that in the next five years the area has the potential to progress economically to the level of the CBD areas of Sydney or Melbourne. The report provides key statistics on the region’s exciting growth and advice from local icons on how businesses can make the most of the thriving business district. It reveals insights such as 64% of Australian professionals would personally like to be part of the area’s progression and 91% of Australian professionals in the region would like to change their jobs to work closer to home, given the right opportunity. 

The multicultural area is already Australia’s third largest economic region, home to 47% of Sydney’s population and up to 70 nationalities. It is projected to have a 1.9% population growth each year for the next 20 years. Michael Page anticipates Western Sydney will provide 200,000 new jobs by 2020 and anticipates growth in sectors across property, infrastructure and construction, manufacturing, sales and service-related industries. 

Michael Page, a specialist recruitment agency, is committed to being part of the exciting progression of the area and is investing in helping Western Sydney companies successfully navigate today’s hiring problems. The recruitment agency has gathered a team of true Western Sydney champions from various industries, to provide invaluable advice on how professionals and businesses can take advantage of the region’s incredible growth. 

“Smart, forward-thinking businesses can capitalise on Western Sydney’s growth by targeting the 65% of Western Sydney professionals who would prefer to work outside the CBD rather than within it,” says Adrian Oldham NSW Managing Director of Michael Page.  “We are gathering forces to help SME managers negotiate the road to a real Western Sydney dream.”

These Future City Mind’s Western Sydney champions have shared their insights: 

Amanda co-founded advocacy group Western Sydney Women that connects and empowers women in the region during all stages of their lives and careers. She balances speaking and consulting work with media appearances, all while working to bring out the potential in women from Western Sydney to enable them to contribute to the area’s economy. 

Le is a multi-talented Vietnamese Australian, entrepreneur, businesswoman, author and speaker, who won the business award in the Western Sydney University 2017 Women of the West Awards. Raised on a farm in South Australia, she arrived in Western Sydney at 18 years old and in a few short years she turned a struggling waste business, Capital City Waste Services, into a $10 million success story. Now, she runs Aspiring Promotions, an organisation to support young entrepreneurs. 

Brendon has served as the president of the Western Sydney Business Connection, an organisation that aims to facilitate networking between some 6000 business leaders across the region, since 2013. As the Head of HWL Ebsworth, a large law firm with a local focus in Western Sydney, Brendon has developed ties with Greater Western Sydney’s most influential business people. 

When Debbie moved to Penrith from South Africa, she founded The Creative Fringe, a shared workspace in Penrith where small-business operators and freelance creatives can find camaraderie and business facilities. The workspace has been dubbed the Surry Hills of Western Sydney, indicative of the way Penrith is evolving, and homes a range of business owners from archaeologists to web developers. 

Scott, originally from the Northern beaches, takes joy in discovering the unique Western Sydney community and contributing to the growth of the area through his role at property giant, Knight Frank. He knows firsthand Western Sydney is exploding with real estate and foreign investments with interest from Asia. 

Nathan, raised in Toongabbie, bought his first property at 18 years old after working two full time jobs with 20 hour days. By age 30 he had a $30 million property portfolio. He now employs around 200 people from all walks of life at his property investment group, Binvested. 

For more information on Future City Minds, visit the Future City Minds page.