'It has never been this hard' - Hawkes Bay's economic woes revealed in new report

Productivity in Hawke's Bay has fallen below the national average, according to a new economic study of the region.

The Martin Jenkins research - commissioned by the Hawke's Bay Regional Economic Development Agency (HBREDA) - shows the region is facing serious problems that are threatening to hold it back including a fragile transport system, water and energy constraints, low productivity resulting in lower household incomes than the national average.

HBREDA chief executive Lucy Laitinen says the number one challenge is productivity.

"So we've got lower productivity across all of our industries compared to the national average in New Zealand, and New Zealand has already got low productivity so that's a real concern for Hawke's Bay," said

There is also a skills shortage, driven in part by falling education levels.

"Our educational attainment is really degrading and we need to be focusing on that right from a young age through into tertiary education. How can we lift that skill level of our locals but also attract higher skilled workers into our economy and stay here," Laitinen said.

Amber Forrest also wanted to see that - she has owned a beauty business in Wairoa for more than 25 years and took part in the study.

"It has never been this hard, particularly with the connectivity - the roading.

"Obviously we've had a pandemic then we've had a cyclone, then flooding .. so it's been probably the hardest few years ever to be in business particularly in Wairoa, but across Hawke's Bay with everyone being devastated the way they were," she said.

To tackle the skills shortage and lift the educational standards in the region, Forrest is running a business school alongside her beauty clinic .

"There's a massive gap in the industry and barriers to getting higher education in our town. When you can lift one person it has a positive flow on for ten more people in that whanau - so just showing there is opportunity if you are willing to work for it," said Forrest.

One of those barriers is the cyclone battered State Highway Two between Napier and Gisborne. Laitinen said HBREDA was building a case for further investment to make it more resilient.

"Because our hunch is that not only is it costing the economy in Wairoa to have a fragile roading network, but it's also stifling investment in that region so we want to put a number on that and convince the government to put more money and effort into that road," she said.

Robert Darroch was also involved in the economic survey. His company Future Products Group produces heated and refrigerated display cabinets for companies around the world, including McDonalds and Walmart.

"The challenges for most businesses that export is not because you come from Ekatahuna, Napier or Hastings - but because you come from New Zealand you are so far from the market that you've got unique challenges as a country rather than a region," he said.

But he also believed Hawke's Bay was a great place to run a business from.

"As a region we have many many many businesses that don't mind sharing know how or client contacts or whatever, and that is unique to HB... We have clients that visit from Auckland that can't believe the network that operates in HB that they don't have in the likes of Auckland or bigger cities and that," he said.

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