MORE THAN 1200 people have registered to be part of ATEC’s free online weekly tutorial series, Road to Recovery.

The tutorials, part of ATEC’s ‘Build Back Better’ strategy, offer a 12-week program of valuable, learning opportunities designed to give individuals and businesses tools to be stronger than ever once the industry gets back on track. 

“ATEC is rolling out the ‘Road to Recovery’ tourism tutorial series as a way of supporting our industry members and helping them use this time to work on their business,” ATEC managing director Peter Shelley said.

“This is undoubtedly an unprecedented challenge for our industry and many people have lost their jobs or their entire business, but the tourism industry is full of passionate and committed people who will be there at the other end of this pandemic, looking to re-engage and find new opportunities.

“We are offering our Road to Recovery tutorials free to the tourism industry in order to help individuals use this time as an investment in their future, learning and building on their strengths and finding new paths."

Over the past month ATEC has successfully delivered industry webinars to an audience of 3000 plus registrants through its Build Back Better Leadership Webinars where members gain insights from panellists discussing a range of industry-relevant topics and challenges.

The Road to Recovery Tutorials are just 45 mins and are hosted every Thursday at 2pm (AEST).  

Upcoming Tutorials:

Week 1: Resilience- self-care, team care and how to work from home healthily    
Week 2: Build your Road to Recovery checklist    
Week 3: The virtual world - There's never been a better time
Week 4: How to adapt and Innovate in this new world
Week 5: Leading remote & virtual teams
Week 6: Facebook, Instagram and Linked-In stay connected and grow your customer base.

For a full program and to register click here.  https://www.atec.net.au/build-back-better/road-to-recovery-series/

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THE Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA) is switching to virtual teaching to assist students, teachers and parents, with children learning from home due to the COVID-19 outbreak said the Queensland Resources Council (QRC).

QRC chief executive Ian Macfarlane said the Academy had been working with the Queensland Department of Education and teachers to deliver the educational content remotely, with direct links to the Australian curriculum, when term two starts today, Monday, April 20, for the majority of schools.

“Technology is the great connector during these challenging times and the QMEA will continue to deliver its services to students in the south east and the regions through virtual classrooms,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“QMEA will deliver the educational content using the capability of the QRC led national minerals and energy education portal www.oresomeresources.com as well as through interactive webinars and online videos to teach students science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects and tips to enter the essential trades in our industry. ”

The QMEA will offer additional access to more educational resources and online experiences to assist teachers in understanding the skills needed in our sector and the teaching and learning of minerals and energy.

QMEA is the education arm of the QRC and partners with 75 schools across the State with the help of industry professionals and is Australia’s largest industry and government educational partnership.

“The latest data provided by the Queensland Government shows that almost 22 percent of QMEA students who finished school in 2018 and went to university began studies in engineering and related technologies last year, compared with 15 percent of students in non-QMEA schools,” Mr Macfarlane said.

“And, 5.2 percent of QMEA students entered a mining field compared with 0.2 percent of non-QMEA students.

“Most pleasingly, 4 percent of Indigenous students in QMEA schools entered mining careers, compared with just 1 percent of non-QMEA Indigenous students.

“And, 13 percent of QMEA female students in apprenticeships went into the mining sector compared with 2 percent of non-QMEA females."

www.qrc.org.au

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THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) Kate Carnell has called for federal legislation requiring small businesses to be paid in 30 days, amid a fresh wave of big businesses using the COVID-19 crisis as an excuse for poor payment times.

It’s a key recommendation made in ASBFEO’s final report regarding its Supply Chain Financing Review, released by Ms Carnell today, which reflects a recent surge in larger businesses pushing out payment times to their small business suppliers.

“Large businesses extending or in some cases, suspending payments to small businesses are on notice that this behaviour is unacceptable,” Ms Carnell said..

“There’s no denying businesses of all shapes and sizes are enduring extraordinary challenges as a result of the coronavirus crisis, but small businesses are being hit hardest.

“Many small businesses have been forced to close their doors and a lot may not survive the coming months, even with significant support from the government. That’s why it is more important than ever to ensure small businesses are paid on time," Ms Carnell said.

“We know that if small businesses are paid on time, the whole economy benefits. On the flip side, a lack of cash flow is the leading cause of insolvency.

“Legislation requiring SMEs to be paid in 30 days is the only way to drive meaningful cultural change in business payment performance across the economy.

“If Australia were to go down this path, it would not be alone. Just recently, legislation was tabled in the UK that stipulates a uniform 30-day statutory limit for payment of invoices and provides for enforcement of financial penalties for late payments," she said.

The Supply Chain Financing Review calls out several household-name businesses that have engaged in poor payment practices.

“MYER, David Jones, Just Group, Sussan Group, Carlton United Brewery and CIMIC are named in the report as having payment policies that are damaging to their small business suppliers," Ms Carnell said.

“Our review has revealed the voluntary Supplier Payment Code is not effective. There is no compliance monitoring and it is actually unenforceable. This is consistent with similar systems internationally.

“While we support the Payment Times Reporting Framework as a useful tool, it’s unlikely to result in the systemic change that is needed," Ms Carnell said.

“When used appropriately, supply chain finance is a legitimate and effective product that can be used to free-up cash flow for small and family businesses. In fact, it may be particularly useful to small businesses that need to be paid faster as they navigate their way through the COVID-19 crisis.

“However it is critical that harm inflicted on small businesses as a result of misuse of these products be urgently addressed.”

www.asbfeo.gov.au

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THE PLAN for the recently announced $1,174 million redevelopment of RAAF Base Tindal in the Northern Territory and the associated United States Force Posture Initiative Airfield Work will be scrutinised by the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Public Works at a public hearing tomorrow.

The inquiry into the RAAF Base Tindal Redevelopment Stage 6 and United States Force Posture Initiative Airfield Work project will examine the proposed base redevelopment aimed at maintaining existing base capability and airfield works to support KC-30A Multi Role Tanker Transport operations.

Public hearing details

Date: Tuesday, 21 April 2020
Time: 2pm to 3pm (AEST)
Location: via teleconference

The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live

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