RCCIWA Members Forum – October 27^th and 28^th 2022 – Save the Date
Planning is under way for our second RCCIWA Members Forum for 2022 to be held on Thursday 27^th and Friday 28^th October. We will also be holding our 2022 AGM and the ever popular networking event, our Business After Hours. Hosts and more details of the entire forum to come. For now, we would like you to save the date. We have just closed our delegate survey from our June Forum and the feedback has been extremely positive as well as very constructive. Our members all appreciate and value the opportunity to meet with key decision makers and agencies as well as having quality conversations with fellow members and further building the RCCIWA member relationships.

Australian Jobs and Skills Summit – RCCIWA Participation
You may be aware that the Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Prime Minister of Australia will be holding the Australian Jobs and Skills Summit in early September. The summit will bring together government, industry, states and agencies to work on the collective skills issues in collaboration. We have been invited by the Department of Training and Workforce Development to contribute to the Summit by way of consultation, to ensure the regional business communities’ perspective is included. DTWD are seeking insights on issues important to our members to support the WA Government’s preparations for the Summit. This consultation is taking place this afternoon and we appreciate that DTWD recognised RCCIWA as a key stakeholder in this process. We have a great deal of relevant information to contribute on behalf of our members. It is expected that the Summit will cover the following themes:

• Keeping unemployment low, and raising productivity and incomes
• Job security and sustainable wages growth
• Employment opportunities, including for the most disadvantaged
• Skills shortages and the skills mix over the long-term
• Migration settings
• Opportunities from renewables, the digital economy, the care economy and a Future Made in Australia
• Ensuring women have equal opportunities and equal pay

Small Business Development Corporation - Small Business Round Table
This week RCCIWA was invited to take part in a Small Business Round Table hosted by the SBDC and David Eaton, the WA Small Business Commissioner looking at how the State Government can support small businesses over the next three to five years and in a post COVID environment. The attendees were an invited group of industry associations and key SBDC professionals. It was an extremely valuable round table and great to hear from a variety of industry associations as to what they think the major challenges for small businesses are right now and what can be done to support them to a part of growth and sustainability. Some of the key challenges in common that were discussed were:

• The complexity of running a small business – regulations, rules, processes etc etc
• The challenges of finding staff and then finding somewhere to house them
• Managing the growth
• Education and training
• Mental health support

RCCIWA are big fans of the SBDC, and we work closely with them. We know the information gathered at this roundtable will be well utilised by the SBDC as they  plan future programs, policy and delivery.

RCCIWA Monthly Online Member Meeting
On the second Tuesday of each month at 10am we hold an online members’ meeting which usually runs for an hour to 90 minutes. We usually see about 15 members represented on the video call each month to give member updates, discuss common issues & possible solutions to these, as well as the opportunity to share and learn from each other. We also hear from experts from the SBDC and CCIWA, as well as others as requested to receive valuable and relevant updates. The monthly meetings are a great way of connecting with our members with each other, as well as working through common issues or activities. Calendar Invites for the year have been sent to our members earlier in the year, so hopefully they are in your calendar. The agenda and a reminder will be sent our a few days before the meeting each month. Our next one is scheduled for Tuesday August 9^th at 10am and we would love you to join us if you are available.

RCCIWA Administrative Items

• We are constantly updating our membership contact list. If you have any changes to your contacts or would like to add any people, please email Emmi at admin@regionalchamberswa.com.au We know that it is AGM time for some, so please send through your newly elected committee when ready.
• Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and share our page with your members, and in particular your elected committee or board members.
• Please also let us know about any activities, initiatives or events you would like us to include in our weekly newsletter. We love showcasing a great idea, program or event that one of our members is delivering. If you have something you would like us to share – please send through the details to Emmi at  admin@regionalchamberswa.com.au
• Our member portal is being well accessed by our members, but we can always add more content – so please send through any operational documents you are happy to share with your fellow members to Emmi   admin@regionalchamberswa.com.au