Retail and hospitality businesses across the region are telling us this has been the quietest January on record and that the challenge to maintain their workforce while mitigating the covid landscape is overwhelming.

With the expected upsurge in regional travel from this weekend, we know we’ll be hearing from many of our small business owners about the issues of finding staff. Workforce development is a key strategic pillar for RDASI and we’re pleased to be working closely with the Local Jobs Facilitators in the Illawarra South Coast and Canberra regions as part of the Local Jobs Program funded by the Federal Government.

I wish to acknowledge the work of Gladys Berejiklian as our Premier over almost five years. I’d also like to congratulate Dominic Perrotet MP coming into the role as the youngest Premier ever, and Paul Toole MP the new leader of the Nationals and now Deputy Premier.

Recently, our new Board met for a strategy development day to look towards the future direction for RDA – Southern Inland. The day was productive, collaborative, and full of great ideas. With Commonwealth funding secured until June 2025 RDASI has the security to take a longer-term view of economic development in the region.

Last month RDA Southern Inland had the pleasure of meeting new and previous attendees at our Connect events in the Southern Highlands, Goulburn and Yass Valley. We heard from up and coming and inspiring businesses, pitching their ideas and business concepts. These events have been created by the business community for business and we continue to hold these Regional Connect events to boost local B2B networking while providing information and support to help SME’s thrive.

We have been honoured to be a part of the extremely successful SISP program and that we were selected as a pilot region. The program has significant momentum and has expanded to over 30 schools in 2020. In what has been a challenging year, the program has assisted schools and students to integrate STEM into the classroom and engage with industry.