To explore new possibilities and pursue opportunities, we must be willing to invest.
Investment in ideas, investment in people, investment in capital and, from a Council point of view, the investment in infrastructure are crucial to driving this region forward.
It’s timely, as we launch headlong into Scenic Rim Eat Local Week season, to reflect on the strong opportunity this initiative represents as it goes from strength to strength each year.
Celebrating our agricultural industries
Eat Local Week not only showcases the region as a food-bowl but also as a leading destination, driving tourism, fostering community pride and generating ongoing economic benefits for the primary producers and the wider community. Last year Eat Local Week attracted more than 37,000 visitors to the Scenic Rim region, contributing more than $2 million to the local economy.
We embrace this interest in the provenance of food, and we are grateful that people are coming out and gaining an understanding of the value and importance of our agricultural areas, so they can fight to celebrate them and to protect them.
So check out the 2019 Eat Local Week program, clear 29 June to 7 July in your diaries and book yourself in for some fantastic events now to celebrate our local producers.
Investing in our skills
Council has secured $350,000 through the Regional Skills Investment Strategy to develop projects which address skills needs in the Scenic Rim and close gaps in service delivery.
This State Government funding will enable us to deliver an engagement and collaboration project, partnering with the Scenic Rim community to identify current and emerging jobs and ensure there is a supply of skilled local people to meet this demand.
This engagement and collaboration will enable us to navigate existing vocational education and training investment programs in the region to support economic growth and employment, and address skills shortages.
World class networking and learning
Congratulations to Sara Stanley of ACS Engineers, an outstanding young professional in the Scenic Rim who has been successful in receiving Council support to attend the upcoming 2019 Asia Pacific Cities Summit & Mayors’ Forum.
Sara will participate in the Young Professionals Forum at the summit, being held in Brisbane from 7-10 July.
This is a fantastic opportunity for the Scenic Rim to network and learn in a really big way, and I commend Sara for pursuing this opportunity.