Business bulletin: 25 November 2021

Territory apprentice, Savanne Canobie, has been named the Apprentice of the Year at the Australian Training Awards 2021.

The awards, which were held virtually last week due to COVID-19 recognise the country’s best and brightest in Vocational Education and Training (VET) and those who have achieved excellent in their fields.

Savanne completed her Certificate III in Electrotechnology Electrician qualification at Rio Tinto Gove Operations and has consistently demonstrated an eagerness to refine her skills and seek out opportunities to lead.

She is a mentor to new apprentices and has career aspirations to become qualified in dual trade Electrotechnology and Instrumentation and Control.

“I think everybody should consider VET as a viable career pathway. I wanted to do something with my hands, I wanted to stay in my community and in the Territory so that’s why I went down the trade pathway.

“I am so passionate about the Vocational Education and Training system, you never know where an apprenticeship will lead you. I’m an electrician at the moment and I now have the ability to work anywhere in the world.”

Taminmin College was also an Australian Training Awards winner, taking out Small Training Provider of the year. The college is a comprehensive rural school-based Registered Training Organisation catering for 1,250 students from years 7 to 12. It offers a range of nationally accredited and recognised vocational education and secondary education courses spanning across many industries.

Taminmin College’s VET Operations and Quality Assurance Coordinator, Susan Burgess, said “It has been a long journey to get to this but the Department of Education, our school board and our students have been supporting us the whole way. Without our students we wouldn’t be doing what we’re doing.”

“This award is affirmation that we are doing a good job and we will continue what we’re doing and hopefully share our knowledge with anyone else who wants to learn.”

The Territory also had 2 runners up - Australian School-Based Apprentice or Trainee of the Year, Elyssia Tallon Rosas, and Trainee of the Year, Lorraine Randall.

The Territory’s other finalists included:

• Jahdai Vigona - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Student of the Year
• Wendy Blight - VET Teacher/Trainer of the Year Award
• Makisha Tilmouth - Vocational Student of the Year
• Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education - Large Training Provider of the Year.

For the full list of winners go to: https://www.australiantrainingawards.gov.au/finalists

Katherine Outback Experience has won the Tourist Attractions category for the third time in a row, as well as the Chairman’s Choice for Tourism Excellence at the prestigious 2021 Brolga Northern Territory Tourism Awards held at the Darwin Convention Centre earlier this month.

Owned by multiple Golden Guitar winner and horseman extraordinaire, Tom Curtain, together with wife, Annabel, the Katherine Outback Experience celebrates the Territory’s rich pastoral culture and history through real horse-starting and working dog demonstrations, entwined with live music and humours bush tales.

Annabel Curtain said Katherine Outback Experience offers a raw and authentic time for visitors.

“Our experiences are about the people and way of life in the outback – there are no fancy production sets and things don’t always go to plan but that’s part of the real outback that we know and love.”

More recently the business has expanded to offer horse riding tours and lessons and as well as an exclusive outback glamping experience. They also offer a range of services including a farm therapy program, education sessions for school groups and team building sessions.

The 2021 Brolga Awards Chair of Judges, Dino Magris, said the Chairman’s Choice Award is given to the most outstanding entry of the year.

“Katherine Outback Experience provided an exceptional entry, which combined with their consumer reviews demonstrated their passion, genuineness and commitment for providing an outstanding tourism product. Their agility to respond to the challenges of the past 18 months is fantastic.”

As the winner of the Tourist Attractions category, the Katherine Outback Experience will now represent the Northern Territory at the 2021 Australian Tourism Awards in March 2022.

For a full list of winners head to: https://www.tourismnt.com.au/industry-toolkit/brolga-awards/2021-winners

A new study into the Territory’s steel sector has been released to support the future growth and sustainability of our local industry.

The study, which was facilitated by the Northern Territory Chamber of Commerce and undertaken by Deloitte, provides key insights into the sector which will help inform future government decisions and support industry growth.

The Territory produces around $250 million in steel products and services annually. There are more than 150 businesses and 1,000 workers that provide a broad range of quality services from steel supply and fabrication, surface treatment, marine maintenance and construction across northern Australia.

There are growing opportunities for steel supply and services in the mining, construction and manufacturing sectors, and it is important the Territory’s steel sector is well positioned to take advantage of these new opportunities.

Upcoming major projects will also provide opportunities for the steel industry generating important flow-on benefits for local businesses.

The 6 key recommendations and opportunities for growth were identified in the study:

• increased collaboration between Territory businesses to increase local capacity and offering to the market
• deeper engagement and a strong industry voice to advocate for steel businesses
• quality and pricing to meet market demands and to better understand customer needs
• transparency around freight costs
• development of a multi-user facility that could provide new automation capacity in the Northern Territory
• diversification and working with the steel sector to identify new opportunities in the industry.

Chamber of Commerce NT Chief Executive Officer, Greg Ireland, said “the study investigates Territory competiveness, offering a pathway for Territory businesses to participate on a fair playing field with national and global competitors.

“Development of steel industry capabilities to support future NT major projects and local industry development has now been identified as a key enabler for future economic development of the NT.

“We strongly support future industry and government investment and development into this critical supply chain capability for the NT.”

The Territory Government will continue to work with the Chamber of Commerce and Manufacturers Council to drive implementation and industry development.

To view the report visit: https://www.chambernt.com.au/news/steel-sector-study

Territory organisations and licensed venues are being urged to plan ahead this festive season and seek liquor licensing approvals for their Christmas and New Year events now.

Territory community groups and associations planning events over the festive season are reminded they must hold a liquor licence if they intend to sell or provide alcohol.

Licensees with a public bar, club (not a community club), restaurant, restaurant bar or small bar authority, and whose hours of operation cease at midnight, are permitted to trade until 02:00am New Year’s Day if they notify the Director by Friday, 3 December 2021.

If you have a late night or extended late night authority you may trade for one additional hour on New Year’s Eve, but must notify the Director of Liquor Licensing by Friday, 3 December 2021.

There are also restrictions applied to advertising liquor licence applications over the Christmas and New Year period. The advertising ‘blackout’ period commences from close of business on Friday, 18 December 2021. Advertising cannot commence before Monday, 10 January 2022.

New businesses seeking a liquor licence are encouraged to plan around this period to avoid unnecessary delays in their application.

Licensing NT compliance officers will continue to carry out inspections over the festive season to ensure licensees meet all regulatory and licensing conditions and to ensure that events are safe for everyone attending them.

For further information around licensing requirements email ITT.LRASComplianceDWN@nt.gov.au or call 8999 1800.

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