We were proud to take great strides as your organisation this year – a neat reflection of what the sector itself is doing – and these achievements would not be possible without your long-standing support and the enthusiastic newcomers joining your ranks.
We promised to deliver on our refreshed strategic focus on core GMC values. As a result, the GMC team stepped up high-level networking opportunities, increased knowledge sharing activities, and continued to raise the GMC profile and advocate on behalf of members. Our programs, expertly led by Program and Engagement Manager, Leanne Nelson, grew significantly with powerful results.
As part of building excitement about careers in manufacturing, we doubled our Geelong schools’ outreach in the 12 months. We graduated a total of 76 Year 9 and 10 students – the most we’ve ever taken through the program – and improved the uptake from government schools by 30%. These programs were made possible with crucial support from Skilling the Bay.
More key achievements for the year included:
- Members and Events – In 2022-23 we hosted 22 major events and four Knowledge Cluster meetings, with more than 1000 attendees over the course of the 12 months. These events included our 25th Anniversary, GMC Connect gatherings, numerous member-only briefings, our business mission and information sharing sessions, as well as our Women in Manufacturing Network (WIMN) events. We were pleased to welcome five new members in 2022- 23 and warmly welcomed back more than 70 renewing members.
- GMC awarded grant to attract and support regional women in manufacturing – In January we were successful in a grant application to strengthen pipelines to attract and retain women in manufacturing across regional Victorian centres. The grant will support expansion of our highly regarded WIMN Mentoring program and our Girls Leading Advanced Manufacturing (GLAM) to new communities of women and girls in Ballarat, Bendigo and Colac, and will continue to grow the programs in Geelong.
- Business leaders took Geelong to the world – GMC was proud to initiate a Geelong leaders’ business mission to South Korea in May, in support of Hanwha Defense Australia’s major investment in Geelong and the City of Greater Geelong’s sister city relationship with Changwon City. The high-level delegation carried the message that Geelong is home to significant manufacturing and research capabilities, including a highly skilled workforce and world class infrastructure. The manufacturing, research and education leaders took part in a series of site visits and discussions in the highly industrialised nation, with the aim of building collaboration towards clean energy and defence opportunities for the Geelong region.
- Manufacturing is Doing What??! – In late 2022, we released GMC’s study of the region’s manufacturing landscape, developed by consultants, Bremer & Co, with support from Deakin University. The report, “Geelong’s Manufacturing Renaissance”, revealed an extraordinary story about Geelong manufacturing: Manufacturing employment in the Geelong and broader regions grew for the first time in recent memory.
- Training program netted significant savings for participants – Process improvements delivering savings as high as $400,000 and a new product line with projected revenue of $35 million were among projects implemented by graduates of the 2022 GMC Leadership for Manufacturing Excellence (LfME) program.
- Bright future in manufacturing – With critical skills and labour shortages across the sector, promoting the value of manufacturing jobs had never been more important when the 2022 financial year began. So it was with great pleasure that we were able to graduate a total of 76 Geelong Year 9 and 10 students in our 2022 and 2023 industry immersion programs. More than ever before in a 12 month period, thanks to the dedication of GMC team member, Jenny Cave, and funding support from Skilling the Bay.
In the coming year we will again present the biennial Technology and Innovation Summit – on 18 April 2024. In 2022 this flagship event, still in the throes of Covid19, featured more than 30 leading manufacturing, research and investment community speakers. The new program will demystify technology for broad manufacturing audiences, will illuminate what A.I. means for manufacturing and future jobs and will shine a light on future opportunities. Look out for sponsor and speaker announcements soon and please Save the Date!
View our 2023 Annual Report here to read more on the achievements of the GMC.