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Welcome to the July 2022 edition of the South East Region DESBT Connections.
Our Connections newsletter is designed to provide our stakeholders with links and updates on information which is relevant to our region.
Last Friday night, the South East Region recognised excellence in training, showcasing the top achievers in 11 award categories.
The winners from the 11 categories will represent our South East Region at the State Queensland Training awards in Brisbane in September. Congratulations to the winners of each category.
In August, Queensland Celebrates Multicultural Queensland Month. Check out activities in your local areas below.
Feel free to forward this newsletter to your networks.
Brett Haagsma
Regional Director, South East Region
Department of Employment, Small Business and Training
P: 1800 210 210 E: southtraining@desbt.qld.gov.au W: desbt.qld.gov.au |
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South East Region Queensland Training Awards |
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Celebrating VET System in South East Region
Congratulations to the finalists and winners of individual, employer and community organisation categories in the South East Region Queensland Training Awards. The winners of each category will represent our region at the State awards in Brisbane on 17 September. Keep up to date with their progress by following Skills for Queensland on Facebook.
Thank you to our sponsors for making this event possible and we look forward to your continued support in 2023. If you would like to know more about entering as a nominee in 2023 or supporting your local region as a sponsor go to our South East Region Queensland Training Awards page |
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August 2022 - Multicultural Queensland Month |
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Multicultural Queensland Month – the state's largest multicultural celebration – is held in August each year.
As Queenslanders, we speak an incredible number of languages and dialects, and practice a broad range of faiths.
This year, we will explore the many ways in which language is fundamental to building a truly inclusive Queensland through the theme 'Inclusion in action'. We acknowledge the incredible skills of multilingual Queenslanders, explore practical ways to break down language barriers and consider the role we all play by choosing to use language that connects rather than divides us.
Our communities thrive when we all work together to ensure everyone can connect, contribute and belong.
Multicultural Queensland Month is an opportunity for all of us to join together to celebrate our diversity and consider how we can put inclusion into action.
During Multicultural Queensland Month, we are encouraging everyone to take a closer look at language and put inclusion into action by celebrating language diversity, breaking down language barriers and choosing to use inclusive language every day.
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| During Multicultural Queensland Month, a variety of events and activities are happening right across Queensland from the far north to the south east.
There is something for everyone so we encourage you to participate and enjoy what's happening in your community. Check out the events calendar to find an event near you.
It's a great opportunity to get to know your local community and try something new.
Register your event
If you are holding an event during the month, you can register it online.
Visit the calendar to enter your event details.
Cultures in Harmony – 6 August
MultiLink Community Services Inc. in partnership with Logan District Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation for Elders invite all multicultural communities to attend Cultures in Harmony 2022!
The Cultures in Harmony event celebrates the conciliatory efforts made by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Pacific Island communities to maintain peace and harmony in Logan and to celebrate our cohesive multicultural community.
Venue: Logan Gardens, 12 Civic Parade, Logan Central
Cost: Free
Multicultural Month in Logan – 19 August
Multicultural Month in Logan brings together members of the Logan and surrounding communities in a celebration of the region's diversity and cultural fusion and will include cultural performances, market and food stalls, storytelling and sporting and recreational activities including a soccer tournament.
Venue: Kingston Butter Factory, 270 Jacaranda Ave, Kingston
Cost: Free
Multicultural Fiesta through Visual Presentation - 27 August
This event aims to provide an opportunity for diverse cultural groups to display their culture through showcasing colourful and unique national costumes, including a costume show with live music, photography and film.
Venue: Robina Community Centre, 196 Robina Town Centre Dr, Robina QLD 4226 Cost: Free | 
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| | Throughout August a series of FREE webinars will provide practical information, hints and tips on topics such as how to arrange translating and interpreting services, the importance of using inclusive language, and the benefits of speaking more than one language.
The webinars will be presented by industry experts from 2M Language Services, University of Queensland (UQ) School of Languages, National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) and the Griffith University MATE program.
Please note, if you miss a webinar you can view the recording of each webinar until September 2022.
The importance of inclusive language
Thursday, 4 August
Delivered by: Shaan Ross-Smith, Director, MATE program, Griffith University.
Registration: Please register your attendance.
Creating a culture that supports bystander action
Tuesday, 9 August
Delivered by: Anoushka Dowling, Assistant Director, MATE program, Griffith University.
Registration: Please register your attendance.
Going Borderless: reframing additional language skills as a game-changing career strategy for all.
Tuesday, 16 August
Delivered by: Dr Angie Knaggs, School of Languages, University of Queensland.
Registration: Please register your attendance.
Vibrant Communities: Engage, Empower, and promote Equity among Queensland's Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) and First Nations Communities
Tuesday, 23 August
Delivered by: 2M language services.
Registration: Please register your attendance.
Intersectionality and Cultural and Linguistic Diversity: The unconscious mind and its biases
Wednesday, 31 August
Delivered by: Dr Seb Dianati, School of Languages, University of Queensland.
Registration: Please register your attendance.
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Small Businesses Benefit from $5 Million of Business Basics Grants |
| More than 1000 Queensland small businesses will receive grants of $5000 to get their ‘business basics’ on track by investing in areas such as website development, marketing plans or business coaching.
The Business Basics grants program provides support to businesses to increase coreskills and adopt best practice.
Tradies, medical and community support services, tourism and hospitality businesses are amongst the 1009 businesses to get this support.
Minister for Employment and Small Business Di Farmer said the $5000 injection to each business adds up to a $5 million investment into small businesses and the communities they serve right across Queensland.
“Investing in these businesses will help improve and grow their operations and allow them to serve more customers and clients,” Minister Farmer said.
“When we invest in small businesses, we invest in Queensland because their success and growth fuels the economy and gives us great options as customers to invest in our local communities. |
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$1.5 Million to Grow Queensland’s Workforce |
| Nine industry and community groups are the first recipients of the Queensland Government’s $1.5 million Growing Workforce Participation Fund, to support ongoing employment for jobseekers from identified groups.
Minister for Employment and Small Business and Minister for Training and Skills Development Di Farmer said the organisations will receive grants of up to $200,000 to trial new programs that will help jobseekers and employers to connect.
The Growing Workforce Participation Fund will support Queensland employers to address the labour and skills shortages they are facing, by improving the ways they engage with disadvantaged people who are looking for work.
This may be through job-matching services, pre-employment pathways or other innovative resources and programs, which will be delivered across regional Queensland and in the Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Logan, Moreton Bay, Scenic Rim and Somerset local government areas in the South East corner.
Spinal Life Australia is one of the first groups to receive funding with its EnABLED Business Program which works to bridge the gap between people with a disability and businesses to increase opportunities for both parties.
The program will help to break down the barriers faced by people with disability to participate in the labour market by helping small- to medium-sized enterprises to understand the needs of people with disability and introduce strategies to make sure those needs are met.
Minister Farmer said young people seeking stable employment in ICT would also be supported through Energy Skills Queensland’s pilot program ‘The Future is Cyber’.
Recognising that one-in-four jobs of the future will have an ICT skill requirement, Energy Skills Queensland will assist young people and in particular, provide additional support and connection to people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to unlock their potential.
David Cross, CEO Energy Skills Queensland said the funding recognised the critical role digital skills will play in the workforce of the future.
“This pilot program will enable Energy Skills Queensland to provide community-based opportunities and an exciting pathway for disadvantaged jobseekers,” Mr Cross said.
The Growing Workforce Participation funding will support industries to develop new ways to recruit and retain workers, including reaching out to young people, the long-term unemployed, First Nations people and people with disability. | 
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Business Boost Grants Program - Round 2 |
| Next round of Business Boost grants on the way
Small businesses ready to take their business to the next level are being encouraged to apply for a Business Boost grant up to $15,000.
Previous Business Boost grant recipients have used the funds to introduce an online booking system, redevelop their website, develop a customised workplace health and safety system or train their staff.
Businesses will need to co-contribute at least 30 per cent of the total cost of their proposed project with grant funding paid to successful small businesses following completion of the project.
To manage applications for the grants, a new two-stage application process has been introduced.
Stage 1 – From 9am 12 August to midnight 19 August small businesses can register interest in the grant program by completing a simple online form that collects basic business information.
Stage 2 – A number of businesses will be selected through a ballot process and invited to complete a full application. All valid registrations of interest will have an equal opportunity of being selected. All businesses that have registered will be informed of the outcome of this stage.
Businesses invited to complete an application will have two weeks to submit.
Program guidelines, FAQs and eligibility criteria are now available. |
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GIVIT - Queensland Small Business Hardship Appeal |
| We know it's tough for any business to keep trading without the equipment or resources they need. COVID, floods, bushfires and disruptions of various kinds take a toll on so many small business owners. Equipment has become harder to replace due to increased costs, scarcity of supply or longer than usual lead times.
GIVIT is a practical and smart way to help small businesses in hardship to repair or replace equipment or facilities essential to getting restarted. We're calling on big-hearted business and community to support local businesses in need.
The Queensland Small Business Commissioner (QSBC) is working with GIVIT on this appeal. |
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Investing in Queensland Women Grants |
| The Investing in Queensland Women grant program (the grant program) supports community groups and organisations across Queensland’s urban, rural and remote regions with resources to lead projects and events designed to create positive change for women and girls.
Are you interested in advancing the lives of women and girls and achieving gender equality?
Are you a community group or organisation that has an idea for an event, resource or project that would benefit women and girls across Queensland?
To assist in getting your idea up and running, the grant program provides one-off grants of up to $15,000 for projects and events that align with the Queensland Government’s strategic priorities and address the unique issues faced by women and girls.
Applications close on 5 August 2022. | 
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The Queensland Government has announced $320 million over 4 years, with $80 million each year ongoing, to continue the Skilling Queenslanders for Work initiative. The initiative will assist up to 15,000 disadvantaged Queenslanders each year to gain skills, qualifications and experience to enter and stay in the workforce.
Skilling Queenslanders for Work funds training and support for unemployed or underemployed people, with a focus on young people (including those in and transitioned from out-of-home care), Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disability, mature-age jobseekers, women re-entering the workforce, veterans and ex-service personnel, and people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds.
Round 2 2022- 2023 Skilling Queenslanders for Work grants opening in August.
Information sessions currently being finalised and will be available on the DESBT webpage for registration soon.
Format for sessions will be:
Information session from 9am - 12pm then, 12pm - 1pm Networking opportunity for CBO's and DESBT staff - Logan - Tuesday 9 August - Twin Rivers Community Centre, Eagleby
- Scenic Rim - Thursday 11 August - The Centre, Beaudesert
- Redland - Tuesday 16 August - MyHorizons, Capalaba
- Gold Coast - Thursday 18 August - Hope College, Varsity Lakes
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Export Market Development Grants - Round 2 Open |
| Applications for the Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) program are now open.
The EMDG program will retain many of the same features and benefits, plus a number of improvements: - Simplified legislation
- A streamlined application process
- Apply once for a grant of 2 or 3 years
- Know how much funding you will receive before you spend.
There are 3 different grants available, depending on your export-business maturity. There are also grants for industry representative bodies to help their members become export ready and export successfully.
Applications close at 4:00 pm AEST on 17 August 2022. | 
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Queensland Tourism Industry Council |
| $15 million Tourism Experience Development Fund
In an aim to drive demand for Queensland destinations and meet consumer preferences for enhanced tourism products, the Queensland Government has announced the launch of a new $15 million Tourism Experience Development Fund.
Grants between $50,000 and $200,000 are on offer to deliver new and compelling tourism products and experiences, with applicants required to contribute at least 75 per cent of the total project cost.
Applicants must be a private sector (for-profit) business, a not-for-profit organisation or local government authority with a tourism-related focus.
To be considered for funding, projects should include high growth attributes, such as: - Ecotourism
- Accessible and inclusive tourism
- First Nations experiences, and
- Adventure tourism
Full details of the Fund can found on the Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport webpage.
Applications for funding can be submitted through the Smartygrants portal on the Department's website from 15 July.
Applications close on 26 August 2022. | 
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Business Cashflow, Structure and Tax |
| Suitable for Start-ups and Operating small business owners
Thursday, 4th August 2022 1.00pm - 3.00pm
Logan City Council, 150 Wembley Road Logan Central
This workshop will consider how the business structures (whether a sole trader, partnership, company or trust) can influence who has the tax obligations, as well as the rate of tax. This workshop will explain: - the basic premise of the different business structures
- the ideas behind what is business income, and
- what expenses are likely to be deductible.
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| Business Cashflow and Tax Implications |
| Suitable for Operating small business owners
Thursday, 11th August 2022 1.00pm - 3.00pm
Logan City Council, 150 Wembley Road Logan Central
This workshop will consider how the various types of taxes (particularly income tax and GST) can influence a business’ cash flow, not only in terms of profit margin, but also when payments are due. The workshop will also look at: - employment
- tax, particularly superannuation obligations, and
- fringe benefits tax.
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Get in touch with South East Region DESBT - We are here to assist |
| | Have a specific question or business need?
Want to subscribe to our regional newsletter?
Email your query/request to southtraining@desbt.qld.gov.au and an officer will be in touch. |
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