RDASI Newsletter - October 2022
CEO Report
Last month was incredibly busy despite the weather feeling more like winter than spring. Our team has been working at peak capacity and with that has come a succession of successful engagements. We’ve been on the road, travelling to the Snowy-Monaro for our stakeholder event and Board meeting, to Goulburn-Mulwaree for a successful regional connect event with Goulburn Business Chamber and then to Yass Valley introducing the Hon Kristy McBain MP to local businesses and hosting our regional connect event in collaboration with Yass Valley Chamber.
When we’re out in our regions, we make sure to speak to as many people as we can. We like to hear your perspectives, what’s challenging you and of course, what’s going really well. We meet with councils, tertiary educators, state government representatives, non-profit organisations, business advisors, chambers of commerce and most importantly businesses and the people who own and run them. It’s through this on-the-ground communication that we build relationships to develop strategy and drive outcomes.
Workforce, skills and labour shortages have been an issue for our regions for years, however, now more than ever before the lack of skilled labour is impeding economic opportunities for our businesses. We’ve heard your feedback and know this is one of the most poignant concerns right now so we’re working with state and federal programs to improve the situation as quickly as possible.
At our last board meeting, it was unanimously decided to implement a new local jobs software platform for the region. This work is being led by our Workforce Development Officer, Melissa Jones who will be sharing the benefits of local connections for employers and jobseekers. You will be hearing more about this very soon and we cannot wait to launch this initiative into our region.
I was honoured recently to judge the RISE iAccelerate awards for the Wingecarribee Shire pitch event. The competition was very strong and the array of start-up ideas very impressive. Congratulations to the winners who showed how much the program can help develop an idea into reality.
Additionally, I was in Canberra earlier last month for the Regional Australia Institute’s (RAI) annual Region’s rising summit which was filled with fabulous insights from guest speakers from around the country. RAI recently released the numbers of regional job vacancies and again it broke all previous records. Never before has there been so many opportunities in regional Australia with over 90,000 positions currently being advertised. To read the official media release, please access it HERE.
Ag Day is quickly coming upon us and this year RDASI is taking our celebrations to a new level with a conference and gala dinner being held on Friday, November 25th. Suzie Presswell, our Events and Comms Officer is making sure this year’s event will be the best yet. We have some fabulous guest speakers both for the conference and dinner. More details are further down and please contact Suzie if you’re interested in sponsoring the event.
I’d just like to acknowledge the incredible RDASI team. We may be small, but we certainly punch above our weight. Thanks team, you make it happen!
RDASI is always willing to support regional projects to bring improved liveability and higher prosperity to our region. If you have a project you would like assistance with, whether that be a letter of support, introduction to a key decision maker or greater regional promotion of your idea, please contact Suzie, our events and comms officer at connect@rdasi.org.au. We love our region!
Pictures below Minister Kristy McBain MP visit to Yass Valley businesses:
L-R Blackwattle Alpaca Farm, CVC Projects, Martin's Fertilizers and SELX
Goulburn Connect
Team RDASI have travelled from Bowral to Jindabyne holding Regional Connect and, stakeholder events with meetings scattered along the way.
Our first event was Goulburn Connect which was a collaboration with Goulburn Business Chamber and proudly sponsored by Region Group. The focus of our event was employment workforce strategies, with special guests Goulburn Mulwaree Council's new CEO Aaron Johansson and the first of three connect events presented by Malcolm Peak of Peak Corporate Solutions. Goulburn Connect had a great turn out from the local business community and was held at the newly renovated Southern Railway Hotel, Goulburn. Big thanks to Adrian Guest and his team – the service was excellent!
Pictured L-R Aaron Johansson and Malcolm Peak
Snowy Monaro Stakeholder Event
RDASI held their Snowy Monaro Stakeholder event in Jindabyne on September 15th. It was a great night of meeting new people and networking with Snowy Monaro local businesses. Gabby Moir from UOW spoke about the iAccelerate RISE program which is starting this month in the Snowy Monaro and Queanbeyan-Palerang LGA’s. Jamie McMaster from Snowy Monaro Regional Council spoke about economic development within the region and Carisa acknowledged Michael Phillips for his avid innovation support in the region and farewelled him in his retirement. The room was a buzz all night at Cocina Taqueria, Jindabyne. The next day, RDASI convened its quarterly board meeting, utilising a hybrid of face to face and online participation.
ACCELERATE YOUR BUSINESS. GROW YOUR IMPACT.
Coming to Snowy Monaro and Queanbeyan-Palerang.
Starting October 2022.
Once only opportunity. Fully funded.
Register your interest NOW.
The iAccelerate RiSE program supports new and existing regional businesses with practical workshops and a network of regional and international experts. Designed with regional entrepreneurs and University of Wollongong’s iAccelerate program.
Join UOW for a free 30 minute information session about the iAccelerate RiSE program on Monday 10th Oct 2022 at 12:30 pm or Tuesday 11th Oct 2022 at 5.30pm - book tickets online.
Applications to join the iAccelerate Rise program in Snowy Monaro and Queanbeyan-Palerang are now open until the 21st of October 2022.
Yass Connect
Yass Connect was a collaboration with Yass Valley Business Chamber and Enterprise Plus and was proudly sponsored by the Region Group. Another fantastic night with Yass local businesses and our connect speaker Malcolm Peak from Peak Corporate Solutions along with special guest Janine Linklater from the Local Jobs Program. The event was held at Yazzbar, Yass, another successful evening of sensational food and service thanks to the amazing Yazzbar team.
Grow Our Own Excursion to Tribe Breweries A Great Success
RDA Southern Inland’s Grow Our Own program has started on a positive note with our first workplace excursion to Tribe Breweries on 7th September. We took a very enthusiastic group of job seekers into Tribe for a tour of the facility where they learnt about the career pathways and opportunities available to them as an employee of Tribe.
The feedback from both Tribe and the participants has been very positive and we look forward to expanding the Grow Our Own initiative across the Southern Inland region.
If you are a business interested in learning more about hosting a group, contact our Workforce Development & Projects Officer, Melissa Jones on 0422 596 235 or email workforce@rdasi.org.au.
Women in Business
Service NSW has a new online information hub dedicated to supporting women in business to access funding, education and training, networking opportunities, mental health services and much more.
If you're a woman in NSW and you own, run or want to start a business, you can visit the Support for Women in Business online hub and view the services and programs that can help you at any stage of your business journey.
Trailblazers is an exciting opportunity for young, regional change-makers to share their stories on the ABC. Trailblazers is looking for young people who are up to great things and are passionate about regional Australia. Successful applicants will receive an incredible package of support, including media, networking and mentorship opportunities to help them share the story of their project with the nation.
Applications are open now and close October 20, 2022. Click on the link for more information http://www.abc.net.au/trailblazers.
Drone Website Launch
The Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts have launched new drone website.
Drone technology has skyrocketed during the last decade and is now being used beyond recreation for a wide range of commercial purposes, including in disaster relief, environmental conservation and agriculture.
The new drones.gov.au website provides a central location for, visitors seeking information about drone use, related policy, rules and regulations to specific resources on various linked websites, including the CASA website.
This initial release aims to provide industry, recreational users and interested members of the public, with information on drone policies and regulation, including complaints processes.
It also provides the opportunity accessible and up-to-date information on drone rules and regulations. You can also use the website to share feedback or concerns about drone use in your community.
Read more: www.drones.gov.au and https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/department/media/news/new-drones-website-launched
