New careers and skills event, Illuminate, opens in May in Hervey Bay

A new Hervey Bay community event hopes to improve youth employment rates on the Fraser Coast, which is the second highest in Queensland.

The Illuminate event is one of the many projects, activities and services put on by the Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre.

A new community event is coming to the Fraser Coast in May 2023, aiming to empower Hervey Bay job seekers with skills for the future.

With Fraser Coast’s youth employment rates the second highest in Queensland, the event aims to provide an opportunity for community members to develop innovative and creative skills that will help them in their future career.

The launch of the event, Illuminate, will be on Thursday, May 11, 6-8pm at the Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Hive, initiating “100 days of innovation and creativity through partnerships with a variety of presenters to highlight the trends in technology and supporting our local community to connect and learn”.

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Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre CEO Tanya Stevenson said “Illuminate will help you find your spark, explore what it means for young people entering the workforce, support community members looking for a career change or just to upskill”.

“A recent McKinsey survey indicated that 70 per cent of senior executives view innovation as one of the top three drivers of growth for their companies in the next three years. Yet most executives are generally disappointed in their ability to stimulate innovation.

“It has also been suggested that by 2025, 52 per cent of all work will be completed by a form of artificial intelligence, algorithms and robots.”

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The event will have one-off events as well as ongoing workshops that cover topics such as freelancing, developing AI skills, technology, how to start a business, or how to write and publish a book. With the various workshops available, the program aims to cater to everyone's interests.

Ms Stevenson said “while we acknowledge there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution to leading and driving innovation within a region, it is time for the Fraser Coast community to come together and support each other to share new skills and tools to innovate, connect and build confidence to risk implementing new ideas.”

For more information about the event, go to https://www.hbnc.com.au/Event/illuminate.