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| 10 Sep 2026 | |
| General |
One day. Multiple industry priorities. One place to connect.
MINTRAC is bringing Industry Connect to the NSW Central Coast on Wednesday 21 October 2026, creating a regional platform for industry, training providers and government to come together around workforce capability, skills development, business support and the challenges and opportunities currently shaping NSW industries.
Held at the Central Coast Food Manufacturing Innovation Hub in Ourimbah, the complimentary event will bring together HR and training professionals, retail butchers, RTOs, trainers and assessors, business owners, operational leaders and industry employers, alongside government, regional development and workforce representatives.
The program has been designed to move beyond presentations alone. Across the day, delegates will have opportunities to contribute to industry consultation, hear directly from specialists and government agencies, explore available programs and support, tour the Innovation Hub, raise workforce and skills challenges, and build connections with people working across the jobs and skills system.
The day begins with one concurrent session, allowing delegates to participate in the conversation most relevant to their role and industry before coming together for the remainder of the shared program.
A dedicated session will give retail butchers, employers, trainers and industry representatives an opportunity to contribute directly to the conversation around the future of retail butchery training.
As part of the current Meat Processing Pathways Project consultation, participants will be able to provide feedback on proposed changes to the qualifications, skill sets and units of competency supporting the meat industry workforce.
The discussion will provide an opportunity to consider current and emerging skills requirements, workforce capability, training pathways and the challenges businesses are experiencing in developing and retaining skilled workers.
Importantly, the session gives retail butchery representatives a direct voice in the consultation process, helping ensure future training products remain practical, relevant and aligned with contemporary workplace and industry needs.
James Cockayne – NSW Anti-Slavery Commissioner
Running concurrently with the Retail Butchery session, HR and training delegates will have the opportunity to join NSW Anti-Slavery Commissioner James Cockayne for a dedicated conversation on modern slavery risk.
“Coffee with the Commissioner: What Recent Cases Tell Us About Modern Slavery Risk” will examine what recent cases and developments can tell businesses about vulnerabilities within workplaces and supply chains, and what these issues mean in practice for employers, workers and industry.
For industries operating across agriculture, food production and processing, labour hire and complex supply chains, the session provides an opportunity to hear directly from the Commissioner and consider modern slavery risk in the context of contemporary workforce practices.
Nathan Scott – Facility and Training Manager, Central Coast Food Innovation Hub
Leadership capability and innovation will come into focus through a session led by Nathan Scott, Facility and Training Manager at the Central Coast Food Innovation Hub.
Delegates will be introduced to the Manufacturing Leadership Essentials program, followed by a guided tour of the Central Coast Food Innovation Hub and its facilities.
The session provides an opportunity to connect discussions around workforce and leadership capability with a working regional facility supporting manufacturing development and innovation, while giving participants a closer look at the Hub and the opportunities it provides for industry.
Angela Connell-Richards – CEO & Founder, Vivacity RTO Coaching & Consulting
The vocational education and training system continues to operate in a changing environment, with RTOs and industry navigating evolving expectations, workforce requirements and training priorities.
Angela Connell-Richards, CEO and Founder of Vivacity RTO Coaching & Consulting, will lead an interactive State of VET and the RTO Sector Q&A, creating an opportunity for participants to explore the issues, changes and priorities currently affecting RTOs and the broader training sector.
The interactive format will allow delegates to bring their own questions and perspectives into the conversation, connecting developments across VET with the practical realities experienced by training providers and the industries they support.
A major component of the afternoon program will be a dedicated two-hour AFAM ITAB Sector Meeting, connecting industry employers directly with government agencies, regional organisations and programs that can support their workforce, skills and business needs.
The session will introduce the role of AFAM ITAB and provide an opportunity to discuss the NSW Skills Plan, industry training priorities, and current workforce, skills and training issues and challenges identified through industry engagement.
Across the two hours, employers will hear directly from representatives from Regional Development Australia – Central Coast, Service NSW Business Bureau, SafeWork NSW, the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, NSW Department of Education Training Services, AgSkilled, Regional Industry Education Partnerships (RIEP), and Workforce Australia – Local Jobs Program.
The session will connect businesses with practical information, programs and support across regional workforce development and innovation, business growth, workplace safety resources and grants, farm business resilience, apprenticeships and traineeships, targeted training, microcredentials, school-to-industry pathways and local employment initiatives.
Importantly, the session is designed as more than an information-sharing forum. It provides an opportunity for employers to raise current workforce, skills and training challenges directly with the agencies and organisations delivering many of the programs and initiatives available to support NSW industry.
By bringing industry and support organisations into the same conversation, the AFAM ITAB Sector Meeting aims to strengthen connections, improve awareness of available support and ensure industry priorities continue to inform workforce and skills discussions across NSW.
Danielle Webster & Mark Wadsworth – MINTRAC
Following the AFAM ITAB Sector Meeting, MINTRAC’s Danielle Webster and Mark Wadsworth will provide an update on the Worker Safety Induction, including the use of immersive learning to support workplace safety knowledge for workers entering the meat processing industry.
The session will provide an opportunity to hear about the development of the induction and the role immersive learning can play in making important safety information more consistent, accessible and engaging, alongside a broader MINTRAC industry update.
NSW Industry Connect also draws on MINTRAC’s work delivering the Agriculture, Food and Animal Management Industry Training Advisory Body (AFAM ITAB) in NSW.
Through this work, the event will connect employers and stakeholders across six AFAM ITAB sectors: Animal Care and Management, Agriculture, Meat Processing, Food, Racing and Seafood.
Bringing these sectors together provides an opportunity to identify both shared and sector-specific workforce and skills priorities, strengthen connections between industry, training and government, and ensure employers have a direct voice in conversations affecting their industries.
For MINTRAC and AFAM ITAB, that connection works both ways: helping industry understand and access the programs and support available to them, while ensuring the experiences and priorities of employers are heard across the skills and workforce system.
Industry Connect is designed to create opportunities for genuine discussion, practical connections and industry participation.
Alongside the formal sessions, delegates will have opportunities to engage directly with speakers and government representatives, participate in industry consultation, experience the Central Coast Food Innovation Hub through a site tour and connect with peers from across sectors.
The formal program will be followed by Networking Afternoon Drinks, providing additional time to continue conversations and build relationships in an informal setting.
The aim is not simply to share information for one day, but to strengthen the connections between industry, government, training and the workforce system that can continue beyond the event.
Endorsed by NSW Small Business Month 2026
NSW Industry Connect is proudly endorsed as part of NSW Small Business Month 2026, recognising the importance of creating opportunities for businesses to connect with information, practical support, networks and government initiatives.
The event’s focus on direct access to business support, workforce programs, training opportunities, safety resources and industry networks provides businesses with an opportunity to explore the support available to them while connecting directly with the organisations delivering it.
View NSW Industry Connect on the NSW Small Business Month program
Proudly part of Jobs & Skills Month 2026
NSW Industry Connect is also proudly part of Jobs & Skills Month 2026, bringing people from across the jobs and skills system together to share insights, strengthen connections and turn conversation into collective action.
By bringing employers, training providers, government agencies and workforce specialists together around practical industry priorities, NSW Industry Connect provides a regional platform to connect the people experiencing workforce and skills challenges with the people, programs and initiatives working to address them.
View MINTRAC Industry Connect on Jobs & Skills Month
Join us on the Central Coast
Wednesday 21 October 2026
From 9:00 am
Central Coast Food Manufacturing Innovation Hub, Ourimbah NSW
Attendance is complimentary
Whether you are an employer, HR or training professional, retail butcher, RTO, trainer or assessor, business owner or operational leader, NSW Industry Connect is an opportunity to have your say, hear directly from specialists and government, discover practical support and build connections across industry.
🎟️ Complimentary attendance
👉 Register for MINTRAC NSW Industry Connect
Download NSW Industry Connect Program
