• Level of household skills and the imbalance between skills demand of local industry when compared to resident skills. This is a critical policy issue and will drive the local economic outcomes and resident wellbeing for the former manufacturing zones within the region. Issues of skills imbalance also go beyond local industry. The region’s household skills mix will need to include residents with the capacity to access CBD knowledge type employment, as this will assist the rapidly expanding cities of Hume and Whittle Sea to provide improved business services to local industries as highly qualified individuals switch from CBD type employment to local employment when improved opportunities arise.