Organisation shifts focus in 2019

TOOWOOMBA and Surat Basin Enterprise CEO Ali Davenport said the organisation had achieved its 2018 goal of increasing new business in the region and was now shifting its focus to maintaining the work force.

“Our main plan for 2019 is solving the one of the biggest issues in the region - attracting and retaining skilled staff,” Ms Davenport said

“We’ll be working on that over the next six to eight months to attract skilled labourers to come here from other parts of Australia. We will put together a task force, with HR and marketing professionals, to work on the goal from outside the region.

“We understand it is one of the limiting factors for business here in Toowoomba, and we don’t want to see it getting any worse.”

Ms Davenport said an increase in skilled workers was vital for the start of the Inland rail project.

“Inland rail will be another big focus for us next year, making sure that businesses are Inland rail ready and capable of working on the project,” she said.

“We will be working with another organisation to bring a two-day Inland rail conference to Toowoomba in August, focusing on all of the opportunities available to local businesses.”

Besides strengthening the work-force, Ms Davenport said the organisation was looking to break new ground.

“We will also be working closely with FKG and USQ in 2019. The company has big plans in the agri-tech space and we want to work to make Toowoomba more of an export and agri-tech hub,” she said.

“We’re also planning on taking a number of delegates down to Canberra prior to the next election, in around March.

“We will split up into different groups which focus on health, agriculture, education and infrastructure - talking to ministers from both sides of politics.”

She said the organisation would continue to host its annual expos, as well as start-up new events, such as an energy awards evening scheduled for next October.