Yorke Regional Development Board ~ Newsletter

June 2008

From the Chief Executive Officer

Welcome to another edition of the Yorke Regional Development Board’s newsletter Development Brief. As the Board moves closer to entry into its next 5 year Resource Agreement with its State and Local Government funding partners I am pleased to announce in conjunction with the Southern Flinders Regional Development Board and the Mid North Regional Development Board we have received Grants totaling $170 000 to run projects relating to Climate Change and Worker Attraction and Retention. Coupled with this the Board is seeking further funds having contributed $30 000 to run a project on Water proofing the Yorke Region.

Helene Parker, after 10 years invaluable service is leaving for greener pastures and whilst this is a great loss for the Board, I welcome Heather Keane as her replacement. Heather is looking forward to the next 5 years as the Board continues working on Regional Development.

Warwick Welsh
Chief Executive Officer

** NEW OFFICE LOCATION AND PHONE NUMBER **
Please note that the YRDB has relocated its main office to Kadina and are now situated at 31 Hallett Street, Kadina (old YPE office) NEW Phone Number: 8821 1099 and Fax Number: 8821 1094 Postal
Address: PO BOX 102 Kadina SA 5554

Regional prosperity Conference

The Regional Prosperity Conference will be held at the Playford Civic Centre, 10 Playford Boulevard, Elizabeth on Wednesday 2^nd July 2008. This conference focuses on the North of Adelaide including many business opportunities within the Yorke Board Area. Key Note Address by David Koch. For further information check out the website www.regionalprosperity.com.au

Outback Connect— Free IT Training

www.outbackconnect.sa.gov.au

Would you like to access FREE computer training and support from the comfort of your own home? Check out the website above for further
information and class timetables.

Regional Development South Australia
Conference 3—5 September 2008

The 2008 Regional Development SA Conference will be held in Coober Pedy on the 4th and 5th September, preceded by an Opening night under the stars in the iconic town of William Creek on the 3rd September.

Themed sessions will include:
• Regions Mining the Boom
• Growing Regional Economics through Infrastructure
Development
• Essential Tools for Regional Development Personnel.
A full program will be made available soon.
For further details please contact the Yorke Regional Development
Board on 8821 1099.

SA Works in the Yorke Region

The YRDB manages the Yorke Region Employment and Skills Formation (ESF) Network which runs SA Works projects in the Yorke region. The network has a vision to improve work and learning opportunities that supports the economy and communities within the Yorke Region and to ensure our activities promote understanding and respect for individual needs and community differences. The SA Works projects managed the ESF Network assist to train people who generally fall between the gaps of other training programs.

Eleven projects were held during 2007/08. A selection of
the projects include:

• Work to Work –this project is run in the Yorke Peninsula by the District Council of the Copper Coast and in the Adelaide Plains by Employment Directions. The project offers individual case management assistance to participants and offers tailored training in a group orindividual environment.
  
• Community Services – this project will assist 15 people to gain their Certificate III in Community Services through a recognised prior learning process. Many people working in the aged care and disability sectors are required to have Certificate three in Community Services and without this training they will no longer have a job.
• Hospitality – The Yorke Local Community Partnership was funded to provide Certificate I in Hospitality Kitchen Operations in Maitland and Kadina. 15 Students from Kadina Graduated on Monday, 10 December 08 and 14 students from Maitland graduated on Friday, 14 December 08. The students prepared and served meals for guests at the graduation.
• Multicultural Forum – In conjunction with the Wakefield Spoke Network a multicultural forum was held at Port Wakefield in March.
• Food Processing - This program aims to assist people into jobs within the Food processing and horticulture industries. The program provides generic training in food processing, pre-employment skills, customer service and OHS&W. It is envisaged that providing these general skills will allow opportunities for employment within organisations such as D’Vine Ripe, ABB Grain and Prime Valley Pastoral.
• Business Ticket to Training – This project provides funding to allow businesses to train/upskill people to increase employment opportunities. Training provided must result in new employment or increased work hours.
• Mapping of Indigenous Services -The aim of the mapping of Indigenous services project was to gather updated information to assist with Indigenous services for Indigenous groups and groups who provide services to indigenous people. The project has been completed and the document is currently being indexed and will be
• available shortly on the ESF Network section of the YRDB website http://www.yorkeregion.com.au/ SAworks.html.

The next ESF Network meeting will be held Wednesday August 20th from 10.30am-12.30pm at 51 Robert Street Maitland. Interested people are welcome to attend. Please contact Bridget Sara on 8862 0832 for more information about the ESF Network and its projects.

Understanding and Engaging Generation Y

The Yorke Local Community Partnership in conjunction with the Yorke Regional Development Board presented Michael McQueen from Nexgen Impact in Kadina on June 3rd and in Minlaton on June 4th.
Michael explored Generation Y's paradigm when it comes to patience, respect, communication, loyalty and work ethic. Michael provided a revealing and humorous look at how this younger generation approach and view the world in a very different way to their employers.

Mr McQueen explained that the four key strategies to
engage Generation Y at work are:

1. Put relationships before roles – Gen Y are loyal to people not organisations.

2. Focus on outcomes not the process – Gen Y’s are very good at identifying simpler and quicker processes that achieve the same outcomes.

3. Adopt a facilitator role – Ask questions and take a genuine interests in Gen Y’s life outside of work.

4. Provide regular positive feedback – Praise them when they do something right!

For more information about Generation Y visit Michael’s
website www.nexgenimpact.com

2008 Adelaide Plains Cup Festival a Roaring Success!

The 2008 Adelaide Plains Cup Festival (APCF) was a huge success with over 7000 people attending the 25 events held across the Adelaide Plains from Virginia to Snowtown. This was an increase of 20% from 2007 attendance figures which can be attributed to the growing acceptance of the APCF as an annual regional event.

Approximately 50% of people surveyed identified themselves as living outside of the Adelaide Plains region. 87% of respondents rated the event they attended as a 4 or a 5, with five being the highest score and 99% of people said they would attend the event again if it was held in 2009. All event organizers responded positively about their event. Planning is already underway for the 2009 Adelaide Plains Cup Festival which will be held on Friday 27^th February, Saturday 28^th February and Sunday 1st March 2009.

The theme of the festival will be ‘track and trails’. The idea came about as it links with many features of the Adelaide Plains – the Mallala Motorsport Park racing track, the Balaklava Racing Club horse track, a winery and olive grove cellar door trail, a potential self drive or bus art trail through the region and the Heartland and Heritage trail to name a few.

Multicultural Forum

The Wakefield Spoke Network staged the first of their regional forums for 2008 for the Gawler, Barossa, Lower North and Yorke Regions on the topic of multi cultural awareness on the 19th March 2008 at the Port Wakefield Sports and Community Centre.

Representatives from the following State organisations made presentations on the day, SA Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs, Multi Cultural SA, Multicultural Aged Care and the Migrant Resource Centre along with the State Government’s Population and Migration Division.

The forum allowed for case studies to be discussed and interaction via workshops, both were designed to provide the region with an understanding of the need for varying approaches to cultural awareness.

The three main topics of the day included:

1.Migration and its targets:
The South Australian Strategic Plan, population targets, skilled migrants and refugee programs of the South Australian Population.

2.Creating a positive response for migration:
How to build harmonious and migrant friendly communities to attract and retain long-term migrants.

3.Health and community service impacts:
Programs and requirements by Non Government and Government organisations to prepare for new migrants, including such issues as ageing.

For a copy of the forum’s report contact the YRDB.

Career & Employment Expo—Sydney

South Australian public and private sector organizations joined forces recently to promote their job opportunities at the National Careers and Employment Expo held in Sydney on the 9th and 10th May. The Yorke and Mid North regions were showcased through the South Australia, Make the Move campaign.

The South Australian stand promoted the wide range of job opportunities being created by the $45 billion worth of new developments either proposed or under way. South Australia was the prime exhibitor at both the Sydney and Melbourne expos, which in previous years has attracted over 30 000 visitors.

Regional Migration Program—Skilled Migrants

The Yorke Regional Development Board is committed to training and developing our local workforce, but recognise that there are times when a business requires experienced staff to fill a vacancy.

If your business has not been able to fill a skilled position through the local labour market, then you may be able to access skilled workers from overseas through special migration schemes.

The State and Federal Governments together have targeted migration programs which are aimed at addressing regional labour shortages and generally target migrants who:
-are under 45,
-are suitably skilled and
-have good English skills.

The YRDB’s Regional Migration Officer can provide information and basic assistance to help businesses to access these programs.

Your business may be able to sponsor a skilled worker from overseas for permanent residence. This will require the migrant to remain with your business on a fulltime basis for two years.

If a shorter arrangement would suit, your business may be able to sponsor a skilled worker from overseas for temporary residence for any period between three months and four years. This will require the migrant to be employed by your business on a fulltime basis during the sponsorship period. For further information contact the Yorke Regional Development Board on 8821 1099 or email projects@yorkeregion.com.au

Disclaimer
The information contained in this newsletter is for guidance only. Action or lack of action should not be based on this information. Take appropriate professional advice on your circumstances because laws and regulations affecting you are affected by your
circumstances and change frequently. Yorke Regional Development Board Incorporated disclaims all responsibility for all consequences of anyone acting on,
or refraining from acting on, information contained in this newsletter.