Wollongong City Council has set an ambitious target of creating 10,500 new high-paying jobs in the next decade.
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The goal was set in Wollongong City Council's draft Economic Development Strategy 2019-2029, which was discussed at the council meeting on Monday night.
The council will aim to create the new jobs to reduce the employment deficit, which is where the local economy does not generate enough jobs to give all employed residents the opportunity to work locally.
If achieved, the number of jobs created would be more than double created in the decade to 2018.
The document identifies that the median income needs to be lifted by focusing on generating new jobs in industries that are higher-paying, have a greater share of full-time jobs and are expected to grow in the future.
The council will also aim to attract industries to set up shop in Wollongong that workers and graduates are already skilled in.
Deputy Mayor David Brown said the the document "sets out a road map for a highly ambitious [jobs] goal" and Cr Leigh Colacino labelled it "aspirational".
In the last three years Wollongong has made considerable progress in lowering its unemployment rate.
Wollongong's rate has fallen to 4.6 per cent, which is below the NSW average of 4.8 per cent.
The council will target the ICT/tech sector; financial and insurance services; professional, scientific and technical services; public administration and safety; electricity, gas, water and waste services; and the arts and creative industries.
That will be in an effort to keep more University of Wollongong graduates and more of the 33 per cent of highly-skilled, highly-paid residents who leave the area for work in Wollongong.
Councillor Tania Brown said councillors, council staff and the business community need to be "proactive and positive when talking about our town".
"We have laid out before us, through this strategy, a path to achieving success. Through working with our regional partners, by building links to western Sydney, capitalising on tourism opportunities and bringing major events to the city such as 3 Festival, we can deliver a sustainable, diverse economy."
Cr Mithra Cox asked for more emphasis to be placed on the contribution of artists, festivals, creative services and business innovators in the document.
"Creative industries do not bring in the big bucks but that does not mean they do not have a really valuable part to play in the transformation of our economy."
Council's manager of community, cultural and economic development Sue Savage said the ambitious target was reached after research was conducted and data was collected.
"If council continued with 'business as usual' then we would be seeing a large decline in residents having access to local jobs," she said.
"The target is achievable."
The strategy will be on public exhibition for 28 days and residents are encouraged to look at the document and submit feedback.
