AIME AIME Daily Day 1 | Page 6

BEYOND TOURISM 2020 STEERING COMMITTEE MEETS FOR THE FIRST TIME M inister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Steven Ciobo has convened the first meeting of the Beyond Tourism 2020 Steering Committee, with business events strongly represented. The Committee represents a selection of tourism industry leaders who have been tasked with developing a long-term tourism strategy that will drive and facilitate growth. Association of Australian Convention Bureaux (AACB) president Karen Bolinger and AEG Ogden chief executive Harvey Lister have been directly appointed to the Committee by the Minister. “The AACB commends the Federal Government on this initiative and welcomes the opportunity for the business events industry to contribute to Australia’s tourism strategy beyond 2020”, says Andrew Hiebl, CEO of the AACB. “This is great recognition of our industry which is not only a high-yielding contributor to the visitor economy, valued at over $30 billion in direct expenditure, but is also a strategic tool for attracting trade, investment and global talent. “Over recent years, the AACB has played a leading role in advocating to Federal Government on behalf of the business events industry, identifying and addressing issues and opportunities for industry recognition and growth.” PEOPLE ARE THE FUTURE The Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia (EEAA) is calling on the business events industry to employ entry level staff through a new traineeship program developed with TAFE NSW and Apprenticeship Support Australia. All round the world the business events sector is calling for more people to join the industry to fill new positions and ensure there is a workforce that can make the growth of the industry sustainable. EEAA chief executive Joyce DiMascio says that the business events industry must take responsibility for making the sector an employer of choice. She says the new traineeship opportunities developed specifically to attract entry level staff to the sector is a historic opportunity to leverage Government support for attracting staff. “We are immensely proud of the partnership we have developed with two key agencies in the education and employment services sectors,” she says. “We urge the industry to act now and employ trainees in order to feed the employment pipeline and address the skills and labour shortage in the sector.” “For the business events sector to reach its full potential it needs young talent and we are proud that TAFE NSW and Apprenticeship Support Australia have created this strong partnership with industry through the EEAA.” The EEAA and TAFE NSW will be on stand 1840 to discuss the traineeship opportunities with industry. On both days of AIME, TAFE NSW will conduct presentations at 11am, 2pm and 4pm to brief attendees about the traineeship program. 6  AIMEDaily Day 1, 2018