• Govt touts record SA construction employment
• Ad agency moves with Ease on new acquisition
• CGI finds new Lot Fourteen home
• Langhorne Creek conservation initiative wins global wine gong

Govt touts record SA construction employment

Photo: Pexels

The number of people employed in South Australia’s construction industry has reached a record high of 84,487, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The state government last week highlighted the ABS data which shows construction industry employment growing from around 71,200 in May 2022 to more than 84,000 in August.

The previous record employment for construction in SA was recorded in May 2019 at 78,000.

“The construction industry is going from strength to strength, helping us to maintain historically low levels of unemployment,” Treasurer Stephen Mullighan said in a statement.

“While national and international economic forecasts soften, a buoyant construction sector means thousands of additional South Australians are in well paid jobs.”

“That’s why it’s vital we continue to invest in infrastructure to provide an ongoing pipeline of work.”

South Australia’s unemployment rate grew to 4.3 per cent in September – up from 3.9 per cent in August.

The rise means South Australia has the joint-highest unemployment rate in Australia along with Tasmania.

Ad agency moves with Ease on new acquisition

South Australian digital marketing agency Market Ease Digital has acquired Adelaide video-content firm Typeface Productions.

Market Ease says the acquisition represents its first foray into video content.

Based in Parkside, Typeface, founded in 2016 by filmmakers Kirk Cameron and Aiden Smith, is a small video content agency that works on a range of film work from video advertisements to wedding videos.

SA Health, the University of South Australia, the Cancer Council and World Vision are among the agency’s listed clients.

Market Ease CEO Binh An Nguyen, who will now guide Typeface’s direction as Managing Director, said acquiring a high-quality video studio had been on the company’s radar for “quite some time”.

“As long-term clients of Typeface, we’ve built a strong and trusted working relationship with them and know that their work is world-class,” Nguyen said in a statement.

“Market Ease clients expect excellence, so we continuously invest in building value and quality – this acquisition is a perfect example of that commitment.

“Acquiring Typeface allows us to expand our service offering and removes the need for clients to source their content production elsewhere.”

Cameron and Smith will stay with Typeface as creative director and cinematographer respectively.

“Our hearts are in quality production – it’s why we started Typeface and it’s where we do our best work,” the Typface co-founders said in a joint-statement.

“Joining Market Ease allows us to focus on that more than ever, with increased resources, greater efficiency, and a strong support structure.”

CGI finds new Lot Fourteen home

Canadian IT and business consulting multinational CGI has opened a new office at Lot Fourteen’s Defence and Space Landing Pad.

The company, which provides end-to-end IT-related services, announced last week it would be establishing its new “Space, Defence and Intelligence Hub” within the Adelaide innovation precinct, after first setting up shop in South Australia last year.

The new expanded hub will give CGI the chance to tap into South Australia’s artificial intelligence, machine learning and big data capabilities, the state government said.

Tony Nicholls, CGI director of space, defence and intelligence, said Lot Fourteen “provides the opportunity to fully immerse ourselves at the heart of the thriving space and defence ecosystem in South Australia”.

“Since we established our Space, Defence and Intelligence Hub in South Australia around a year ago, we have gained access to space and defence markets, recruited new members and worked on innovative new projects,” Nicholls said in a statement.

“The opportunity for close collaboration with our partners in South Australia’s innovative space and defence industry such as Sypaq and Saber Astronautics makes the Defence and Space Landing Pad at Lot Fourteen a great new base for CGI in Adelaide,” he said in a statement.

CGI boasts a workforce of 88,500 consultants and professionals across the world. Headquartered in Quebec, it has a market cap of more than $A25 billion.

CGI’s announcement comes shortly after aerospace multinational Airbus Defence and Space announced in September it would be setting up shop at Lot Fourteen as part of the Defence and Space Landing Pad program.

Airbus’ new office will assist them in developing new satellites for the Australian Defence Force.

Langhorne Creek conservation initiative wins global wine gong

A snapshot of the limited-edition Grapes for Good wine bottles.

A Langhorne Creek winery tourism trail aimed at raising funds for animal conservation has been recognised with an international award.

The “Grapes for Good” campaign – a partnership between six Langhorne Creek wineries: Bleasdale, Bremerton, Lake Breeze, The Winehouse, Vineyard Road and Kimbolton Wines – was recognised as a winner at the 2023 Best of Wine Tourism Awards in Argentina on November 3.

An international panel assessed 545 applications from 11 wine capitals across the world – including Adelaide – to award the 11 most exceptional tourism experiences from each city.

The Adelaide award went to the Grapes for Good campaign, which initially started as a partnership between Zoos SA and Kimbolton Wines, with the latter producing a limited-edition cabernet sauvignon to raise funds for cheetah conservation.

The wine bottles feature artwork of the endangered animal.

The conservation program has since expanded to five other wineries, which have together formed a conservation tourism trail through the Langhorne Creek region.

Tourism Minister Zoe Bettison said the recognition puts the Langhorne Creek wine region on the global stage.

“Congratulations to all involved in the Grapes for Good initiative, which not only highlights South Australia’s world-class wineries, but its trailblazing innovators who work together to create top-shelf visitor experiences,” Bettison said in a statement.

“This international recognition puts South Australia – and the Langhorne Creek wine region – on the global stage and helps cement our state’s reputation as a must-see wine destination.”