Place, Partnerships, and Prosperity: Duncan Burck Presents at the National Economic Development Conference

This week, MCB Business Partners CEO Duncan Burck is proud to be presenting at the Economic Development Australia (EDA) National Economic Development Conference, hosted right here in Newcastle.

The conference brings together Australia’s leading economic development practitioners, policymakers, and place‑makers — and provides an important platform to test, challenge, and refine ideas that will shape the nation’s economic future.

Duncan’s presentation focuses on a topic he believes will become increasingly critical over the coming decades:

Place‑based education–industry–government partnerships as a strategic economic asset and growth enabler.

Education–Industry Partnerships as Economic Infrastructure

As competition for talent and skills intensifies — locally, nationally, and globally — regions can no longer rely solely on traditional attraction strategies. The future of economic resilience lies in how effectively places grow, retain, and align their own talent pipelines.

Duncan’s work, and the work of MCB Business Partners, positions education–industry–government collaboration not as a “nice to have,” but as foundational economic infrastructure.

When designed well, these partnerships:

• Strengthen local workforce pipelines
• Improve long‑term skills alignment
• Increase regional attractiveness for investment
• Build resilience against economic shocks
• Create clearer pathways for young people to participate in their local economy

At the conference, Duncan will be sharing insights from MCB’s work across regions, testing ideas around how these partnerships can be embedded into economic development strategy — not treated as standalone programs.

Testing the Message Close to Home

Ahead of the national stage, Duncan recently delivered a test run of the presentation with education partners in the Hunter region.

The feedback was clear and encouraging.

Education leaders recognised the value of reframing their work as a strategic economic contribution, while industry partners responded strongly to the idea that early, structured engagement with schools is not just corporate social responsibility — it’s workforce development done early.

With that validation, Duncan is now keen to see how economic development practitioners from across Australia respond to the message.

Sharing Real‑World Insights: Central Coast Industry into Schools Pilot

A key part of Duncan’s presentation draws on insights from the Industry into Schools pilot project, delivered in partnership with Central Coast Council and their Economic Development team.

MCB Business Partners was proud to work alongside Council to help design and implement the pilot, which explored how structured industry engagement with schools can:

• Improve student awareness of local career pathways
• Strengthen relationships between employers and educators
• Support Council workforce and economic development objectives
• Create scalable models that other regions can adapt

A big thank you to Central Coast Council for allowing these insights to be shared nationally. Their willingness to pilot new approaches provides valuable learnings for other regions navigating similar skills and workforce challenges.