Above: Peter Sanbrook from Sanbrook Brands spoke about manufacturing to educators at the Dandenong Club on Tuesday.EDUCATORS from the south eastern region of Melbourne learned about the important role of manufacturing to the local economy this week.
The Schools and Skilling for the Future event was coordinated by the S4 group, incorporating South East Business Networks, South East Development, South East Melbourne Manufacturers’ Alliance and South East Local Learning and Employment Network.
It was held at the Dandenong Club as part of Manufacturing Week activities, and involved about 40 representatives from educational institutions listening to manufacturing experts explain how important the industry was, in a bid to encourage teachers to promote it as a job opportunity to students.
The four-hour event began with a video presentation of the household-name brands that have chosen Greater Dandenong as their base for manufacturing, including Krispy Kreme, Bacchus Distillery, and Matilda Bay Brewery.
First guest speaker was Peter Sanbrook from Sanbrook Brands, who spoke passionately of the need for industry and educators to work together to ensure that the local economy remained strong.
Mr Sanbrook, whose company makes a variety of baby products and party balloons, said there was a growing emphasis in Australia on smarter manufacturing jobs such as design.
Using his company as an example, Mr Sanbrook drove home the point that change was the norm, and that schools were not exempt from this rule.
The event also featured guest speakers Mark Holland from Marketline, Peter Morris from AI Group, Michael Waterson from local manufacturer Lumen Australia and key note speaker Morris Miselowski, whose topic was Success through Focus.
