2019 MEA Scholarship recipients announced in boost to NSW economy

Australia’s New South Wales Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism, Western Sydney, the Hon. Stuart Ayres, has announced the six successful recipients of the 2019 Meetings & Events Australia’s Diploma of Event Management Scholarship programme. It is the second year of the annual programme and is designed to upskill and create more job opportunities for those living in rural and regional NSW. The programme is also part of the NSW Government’s partnership with Australia’s peak industry body for business events, Meetings & Events Australia (MEA). The new students who are from the six Destination Networks in NSW, will undertake the Diploma via an online portal and have access to face-to-face event management workshops every 10 weeks, bootcamps and webinars to support them during their study. MEA currently has 16 students studying event management from the first round of scholarships with a number of them will complete the Diploma at the end of 2019. The programme is already delivering successful outcomes for regional businesses as the students gain knowledge and confidence in attracting and delivering events to their destinations. Minister Ayres noted the impact and importance of regional business events on regional and rural areas. “Growing tourism in rural and regional NSW is a top priority and Government funding, as well as initiatives, such as the Regional Scholarships Programme, see the NSW Government through our tourism and major events agency Destination NSW, continue to drive record-breaking overnight visitation throughout the State. “The regional conferencing sector presents a significant growth opportunity for NSW, because we know that these types of events generate extra business for our restaurants, attractions and accommodation providers. This creates more jobs and ultimately fuels the local economy – so it’s only natural that we look to invest in up and coming talent who share this passion and help them achieve their goals for their community,” Ayres said. Robyn Johnson, CEO of MEA congratulated the six new scholarship recipients “They will join an engaged group of students and have the opportunity to meet and network with the events industry. “MEA recognises the opportunity to work with regional Australia in growing the local events sector to inject investment and revenue into regional economies, particularly those that have been affected by drought. MEA’s flagship annual event, EVOLVE, will be held in the Hunter Valley 3-5 May 2020 as part of promoting regional Australia to the events sector.”