Cultural understanding hindering Australia's economic growth: business leaders

A lack of education and cultural understanding of the Asian region is prohibiting Australia's economic growth, a business leader said at the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Sydney conference on Friday.

Price Waterhouse Coopers Deals and Asia Practice Leader Andrew Parker told delegates at the BFA conference that his clients who are delivering services across national boarders are requiring global insights, however those services must be delivered in a locally sensitive way.

"That really then speaks to the issue of talent, where do you get that talent, how do you train that talent, what kind of talent do you need," Parker said.

"Diversity is such an important issue... (Australia) is behind on our language capability, language studies in our schools... and we need to do something about that."

It is not necessarily a government issue, but a business decision to entice Australia's younger generations to undertake the required education to guarantee a career, he added.

Adecco Australia/New Zealand chief executive Neil Jones agreed with Parker, saying through his experience, a proper understanding of business culture and etiquette is equally important.

"When we look at the export of services from Australia to countries like China or to broader Asia, we need to pay a lot more respect and attention to those cultural aspects as well as the language," Jones said.

Unless Australia addresses the education system and there is reciprocal recognition of professional qualifications in the region, Jones said Australia would not be able to meet the professional services demand. Endi