Two longstanding members of the Southern Downs Industry Education Association (SDIEA) board were farewelled at the group’s recent Annual General Meeting.
Denise Ingram and Andrew Jones retired from the board at the 16 May meeting – although they were invited to attend future meetings as guests – and three new members were appointed.
They are Warwick Chamber of Commerce president Gary Lawrence who was appointed as Industry Representative, Jacinta Boland (Head of Department, English and Languages, Warwick State High School), who was appointed as Education Representative and Alison Somerset (Headspace Warwick Manager), who was appointed as Future Directions Representative.
They join Janelle Robb (Chair), Justin Nolan (Treasurer), Pam Burley (Secretary), Rod Kelly (Community Representative), Cr Sheryl Windle (SDRC Representative) and Marco Gliori (Community Representative).
During the 2022 year, SDIEA enrolled 103 new participants in the Skilling Queenslanders for Work program (funded by the Queensland Government’s Department of Small Business and Training DESBT), with 85 of those participants gaining permanent employment, giving an 88 per cent employment outcome. In addition to new enrolments, SDIEA continued to support participants from previous years and give general support to the community.
It was a full year which included relocation to the community and education precinct at 163 Palmerin Street, with a goal of providing lifelong learning and growth pathways for those who visit the hub. Strategic partnerships were formed with Busy at Work, Connection Plus and Star Services who all joined SDIEA as tenants of the site in 2022.
Chair Janelle Robb reported that additional support could be provided to the community through the hire of large community facilities available. She said more than 20 organisations currently used the large community room that was previously the library for St Mary’s lower campus.
SDIEA has a goal to leave a legacy for the community through inspiring and fostering individual growth, creating community value and delivering on the precinct’s mission of lifelong learning and growth.
Its strategic plans for the current year include becoming NDIS accredited and establishing its social enterprise food van to support employment and the learning of new skills for participants. The association plans to continue to work with community, government and universities to establish a regional university centre at the site. SDIEA is also partnering with the community to establish a Neighbourhood Centre and it will provide governance when the site is operational.
