LEVERAGING A STEM WORKFORCE FOR THE FUTURE A HUGE SUCCESS – View Presentations

RDA Hunter’s National Leveraging A Stem Workforce For The Future Conference

Regional Development Australia (RDA) Hunter hosted Leveraging a STEM Workforce for the Future Conference on Wednesday 13^th April at Newcastle City Hall.

Featuring keynote speakers NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer, Professor Mary O’Kane and Google Australia’s Engineering Community & Outreach Manager, Ms Sally-Ann Williams, the event was attended by 200 national education, industry and government representatives.

Technology and innovation are transforming the economy. National and international reports suggest that unless fundamental changes are made to ensure a stream of STEM qualified people, Australia’s workforce will be unable to meet future needs.

RDA Hunter’s Leveraging a STEM Workforce Conference examined the shift towards a knowledge based economy, the careers of the future, workforce skills requirements, STEM qualifications and upskilling students for the jobs of the future.

The conference also examined how the ME Program in the Hunter has been leading the way in STEM Education and a number of teacher and industry focused workshops were undertaken.

“Economic growth relies on skilled and capable people. We know that 75% of the fastest growing occupations require STEM skills and that employment in STEM jobs is projected to grow at almost twice the rate of other occupations,” said RDA Hunter CEO, Todd Williams.

“RDA Hunter’s focus is on growing jobs and investing in the areas of employment that will deliver the jobs of tomorrow. Talented people means more entrepreneurship, more economic diversity and our communities are more vibrant.”

“Our Leveraging a STEM Workforce Conference has brought together national and regional experts from industry, education, government and the community to discuss the opportunities that a STEM skilled workforce can deliver for the Hunter’s future,” continued Mr Williams.

Conference Evaluation Summary

As part of the conference delegates were asked to complete an evaluation of the event. Below is a summary of the results;

Session 1 Speakers: Avg: 4.12 rating between Very Good and Excellent
Session 2 Speakers: Avg: 4.0 Very Good
Session 3 Workshops: Avg: 4.26 rating between Very Good and Excellent
Catering: Avg: 4.1
Suitability and Quality of Event: Rating 4.29
The Overall Success of the Event: Rating 4.37
Would you like to see more events of this nature in Newcastle: 96.39%

Selected Comments:

‘The session 1 speakers were fabulous. In particular, the two keynote addresses. Professor O’Kane and Sally Anne were inspirational, articulate and impressively engaging. Thank you for the opportunity to hear them speak.’

‘Always a pleasure to listen to Scott. Really enjoyed his presentation. Chris Sharkey was a delight – many lessons to learn from his insights and experiences. How good were the West Wallsend graphics?’

‘Shane was great, fantastic about sharing resources and I wish we had more teachers like him in every school in Australia, education would improve dramatically.’

‘Great atmosphere, really added a touch of class to the conference.’

‘The impeccable organisation of the day must be commented on – it was first class. We traveled from the central coast to attend today’s conference and we chatted non- stop on the way home about the inspirational ideas and amazing speakers that we experienced today. Huge thanks to Scott and your team. You covered a really interesting range of STEM fields and applications. Loved it.’

‘Not being from the Newcastle area, I would love this type of event to be run in my home area – Macleay/Hastings area. This is a great initiative and it would fantastic to have this type of program replicated in other areas. Well done!’