Could you support a workmate struggling with mental health?
We are all very aware that positive mental health and wellbeing of our teams are important aspects of daily working life. And with one in five New Zealand adults experiencing challenges with mental health in any year, many of us will have first-hand experience with friends, family or workmates when things are not going so well. It is also the case that dealing with this in the workplace is not always easy to address and is affected by how we live, think and what is happening around us. To give businesses more tools to deal with this, we are once again delivering a Workplace Mental Health First Aid course. This is an internationally accredited programme that focuses on building the knowledge and capability of individuals to provide first response support for their workmates experiencing mental health challenges, and connecting them with professional services. Please go here for more information or forward the link to an appropriate person in your team.
As part of our own workplace wellbeing practices, we try to step away from the office every once in a while and do something as a team completely unrelated to work – today’s header image is of our last team outing to the Nelson Golf Club; we may not be pros but we sure can hit the ball (just don’t ask in which direction)!
The Budget 2023 was, as advertised, a “no frills’ event with a clear focus on the cost-of-living pressures that we are all facing. In terms of business specific support there were only a few highlights including a focus on education and skills to ensure that our businesses can find employees with appropriate training. Other business specific budget areas include:
• $27 million for a digital skills package to address the skills shortage in the tech sector workforce.
• $30 million to scale up NZ’s innovative horticulture technology industry, helping to sustainably increase productivity.
• $18 million to drive better career opportunities, improved working conditions and greater innovation within the tourism and hospitality sectors.
• $6 billion allocated to a new National Resilience Plan to support medium and long-term infrastructure investment, with an initial focus on building back better from recent weather events.
• $160 million to support the gaming sector, by providing a new 20% rebate for game development studios. This will be available for eligible businesses who spend a minimum of $250,000 each year. The maximum rebate available is $3 million per game development studio per year. The scheme is backdated to commence from 1 April 2023.
• $451 million has been allocated to create three new public and private multi-institution research hubs which will be based in Wellington. The focus will be on driving innovation, collaboration and export earning potential in health and well-being; oceans, climate and hazards and advanced manufacturing, biotech and energy. Supporting this work will be investment in research fellowships and applied doctoral training for more than 260 people.
The programme for Aspire 2023 is now locked in and we are looking forward to a day packed full of inspiration and useful information. Keynote speakers include:
• Hon. Grant Robertson, Finance Minister & Cyclone Recovery Minister
• Dave Wild, Futurist
• Florence van Dyke, NZTE Head of Sustainability
• Mitchell Anderson & Tom Logan, Urban Intelligence
• John McClure, School of Psychology, Vic University
This week we’re highlighting the dynamic duo – Mitchell Anderson and Tom Logan who lead Urban Intelligence, a new research and consulting firm that provides communities and councils with interactive dashboards of places they live. They’ll share case studies and info about what our region will look like after a major disruption and what kind of impact it will have on particular services and for how long. Mitch has given me a sneak peak on what the team have been working on for Nelson Tasman and I think you’ll be as captivated by this as I was.
A reminder that early bird pricing for Aspire 2023 ends next week, May 31st. Register here
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