The Senate ‘Select Committee on the Future of Work and Workers’, established in October 2017 to investigate the impact of technological and other change on work and workers in Australia, has released a report on the future of work.
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The report highlights the downgrading of VET and recommends better funding and stronger links with universities as essential steps in preparing for a new era of work.
The report can be accessed via the Australian Parliament website. 

The Australian Industry Group has released a new report identifying the growth in skills issues that Australian businesses face. The findings are from the Australian Industry Group's 2018 Workforce Development Needs Survey Report and cover demand for skills, digital skills, apprenticeships and traineeships, workplace literacy and numeracy, graduates and school leavers, leadership and management, training expenditure, training strategies, and links with education sectors.
 
The report shows that three quarters of employers reported skill shortages and 99 per cent are affected by low levels of literacy and numeracy in their workforces.

Collie is bracing for the arrival of Australia's premier quad bike riding event, with the country's best set to converge on the South-West town this October to battle it out for honours at the All Terrain Vehicle Motocross Nationals.
Australia's top riders will compete for national titles at Collie's Stockton Park track on October 5-7, 2018. The event will attract about 400-500 visitors to Collie, with 85 competitors, support staff, friends and family set to converge on the town for the weekend's action - including 25 interstate competitors and their teams.
Hosted in conjunction with the Collie Motorcycle Club, the weekend's action will feature a range of classes including the 50cc demo, pro championship, veterans' championship and the women's championship. The 1.6-kilometre track is set on the banks of the picturesque Stockton Lake, offering an ideal opportunity for spectators to camp at the on-site facilities, watch the racing events and enjoy Collie's natural surroundings. Read more.

Industry, students, job seekers and career changers will have increased access to local job-related services with the Jobs and Skills Centre at Kalgoorlie's Central Regional TAFE officially opening its doors.
The locally focused centre will be delivered by Central Regional TAFE in partnership with Worklink, and is intended to support employers and businesses to build a skilled workforce and create employment, apprenticeship and traineeship opportunities.

The Chamber of Arts and Culture WA has announced that Shelagh Magadza will be its new Executive Director from 23 October 2018, replacing Henry Boston.
Chamber Chair, Helen Cook, acknowledged and thanked Henry Boston for his leadership as inaugural Executive Director and his considerable contribution to the Chamber and its members over the last five years.
Ms Magadza is well known for her significant contribution as Artistic Director of the Perth International Arts Festival between 2006 and 2011.

Perth based film maker Roderick MacKay's film The Furnace was amongst 12 new projects to receive $9M in funding through Screen Australia. Sally Caplan, Head of Production at Screen Australia, highlighted the strong focus on diversity and inclusion across the projects and noted “Promoting diversity and inclusion in Australian screen stories is imperative and I’m thrilled the projects in this slate have embraced these values. We relish the opportunity to support the development of emerging screen talent, and this slate includes a feature debut from Roderick MacKay who will direct The Furnace, a project with strong multicultural characters and themes.” The film is set in 1890's Western Australia and  follows a young Muslim Afghan who forms an unlikely partnership with a bushman on the run with Crown gold.
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Read Screen Australia's media release here.

A minor update to the SIT Tourism, Travel and Hospitality Training Package has taken place, with three skill sets being added for the Travel industry. The following links provide information on training.gov.au for the new skill sets:
SITSS00063 - Australian and International Travel Products
SITSS00064 - Australian and International Travel Destinations
SITSS00065 - Travel Sales and Customer Service

The Australian Masters Rowing Championships will be held at the Champion Lakes Regatta Centre in Perth next year. Supported by Tourism Western Australia and managed by Rowing WA, the championships will run over four days from May 22 to 25, 2019.
The event has 12 age divisions with representatives from New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, as well as some international representatives.
Rowing WA has invited more than 20 international rowing federations to the event, with the focus to increase international participation.
The 2019 championships are expected to attract more than 1,000 out-of-State competitors and visitors, providing a boost to the local economy. Read more.

The Department of Jobs and Small Business carries out research to identify skill shortages in the Australian labour market. The research results provide information about skill shortages at the state, territory and national level. The department’s skill shortage research program covers more than 80 skilled occupations on an annual basis. The department is currently undertaking a review of its skill shortage research program and is asking interested industry parties to respond to a short online survey to find out what is important for the survey to cover.
The survey can be found here.
For more information on the survey and the meaning of its results, visit the department's Skill Shortages research page here.

The Fremantle Netball Association is set to undergo a revitalisation, with the Government supporting the southern suburbs netball hub to build a brand new $1.8 million pavilion.  The project will be built by a WA building company with support from WA small businesses and contractors. Read more.