October 07 Newsletter

Happy 2nd Birthday North Shore!

2007 has been an exciting and big year for the North Shore Branch, and this month we celebrate our 2nd anniversary on the other side of the bridge!

Highlights of 2007 include Kate and Tanya starting earlier this year, followed by our relocation in April to our plush new offices conveniently based on Help Street. We are also pleased to announce that we now have Georgia starting in the temp division! Phew!

On top of all this, our client and candidate base has continued to grow and now covers both temporary and permanent business support, sales, IT, accounting, call centre and finance across the entire North Shore.

TAFE addressing the skills shortage

2007-2008 will see two initiatives receive extra funding from the NSW Government to address the skill shortages.

The Training the Workforce initiative will aim to generate over 33,000 additional training opportunities, and a network of 10 Skill Centres will be established in NSW.

The Learn or Earn program, which focuses on improving trade skills by increasing the number of apprenticeships undertaken, will receive $50.1 million over the next four years. As well as this, the program will see an additional 15 Trade Schools in TAFE’s and Schools.

During 2007-08, TAFE NSW will also continue implementing the National Annual VET Plan 2006-2008, covering the provision of training for new apprentices in traditional trades and other areas of skills shortages, mature age persons and those with special training requirements.

Overall in 2007-08, the total investment in TAFE NSW and related services is estimated at $1,798 million, an increase of $55 million on the 2006-07 Budget.

Good news for employers!

Miss Motivator

With summer just around the corner and the days starting to get longer – we should all be jumping out of bed with a spring in our step, motivated and energised for the day ahead.

If this doesn’t sound like you, the following tips will have you out of your winter hibernation just in time for summer:

To get your day off to the best start try sleeping with your blinds open a little so that you wake gradually and naturally by sunlight instead of being jolted out of deep sleep by an alarm.
Make sure you get a good 8 hours sleep and take advantage of the cool but sunny mornings by getting up half an hour early for a walk, jog or swim – it makes such a difference to your day and motivation levels if you start it with a little exercise and time to yourself before work.
Have a mug of hot water with fresh lemon while you are getting ready for work to cleanse your system

Stay motivated throughout even a difficult day by keeping a list of your favourite motivational quotes to hand. Here’s a few of Beaumont’s suggestions:

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain

“It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect it’s successful outcome.” William James

"If you believe you can, you probably can. If you believe you won't, you most assuredly won't. Belief is the ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad." Denis Waitley

"Don't just let your business or your job make something for you, let it make something of you." Jim Rohn

"We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems." Anonymous

"What a man accomplishes in a day depends upon the way in which he approaches his tasks. When we accept tough jobs as a challenge. . . and wade into them with joy and enthusiasm, miracles can happen. When we do our work with a dynamic conquering spirit, we get things done." Arland Gilbert

"Know the true value of time; snatch, seize and enjoy every moment of it. No idleness. . . . never put off till tomorrow what you can do today." Lord Chesterfield, English man of letters (1694-1773)

October in Sydney - Whats on? at a Glance

22nd September-31st October - Oktoberfest @ The Lowenbrau Keller, The Rocks.

Join the Lederhosen Brigade for live, nightly Oom Pah Pah bands, knee slapping, cow bell ringing, nail hammering and yodelling – not to mention delicious Bavarian beer on tap. Visit www.lowenbrau.com.au for details.

2nd – 21st October - Art & About

Series of exhibitions and events on the streets of Sydney. For details see – www.artandabout.com.au

5th October - National Walk to Work Day

Promoting Better Health and a Cleaner Environment! Register at www.walk.com.au, cost is $20.00 in support of the Heart Foundation, Cancer Council, Diabetes Australia & The Australian Conservation Foundation.

26th September-27th October - Don’s Party, Sydney Opera House, Sydney Theatre Company

11th October - Good Charlotte, Hordern Pavilion

25th October - Rhythms of Ireland, The Hills Centre

If you haven’t had enough of the phenomenon that was Riverdance, join this all singing, all dancing cast for yet another stomping show. World sell-out tour!

28th October - ARIA Awards, ACER Arena

Tickets $60.00 or less! Includes performances by Powderfinger, Silver Chair, Missy Higgins & Sneaky Sound System. Arrive before 3.30pm for the Red Carpet Event.

All details at www.ticketek.com.au

Multitasking impairs your ability to be productive - By Dr Adam Fraser

New research tells us that the average employee in an office environment is interrupted 11 times in an hour. Sounds a lot but when you think about it most people are constantly responding to their email alert, answering the phone, having people come into their office, suddenly remembering things that they should have done and dealing with noise from open plan offices. What's the fall out of all these interruptions? The fall out is a massive reduction in productivity and creativity.

A study by Basex found that office distractions take up 2.1 hours of the average day (28%) with workers taking an average of 5 minutes to recover from a distraction and re-focus on the original task. In fact a recent study conducted by The Institute of Psychiatry at King's college London, compared the cognitive ability of people who had been multi tasking and people who had just smoked marijuana.

Who came out on top?

The drug affected workers. The reason why is that multitasking is incredibly stressful on the brain, it impairs short term memory and concentration. The result is that the brain is left in an impaired state.

This message is important for the leaders of the business. Due to distractions and interruptions people rarely get the time to think creatively and come up with innovative ideas. We need to minise distractions and start to focus again.

A recent study by my company Dr Adam Fraser Pty Ltd showed that the top 10 distractions were:

Emails - office alert and volume of emails
People - office colleagues
Phone - office and mobile
Distracting thoughts - thinking of the next thing to do
Noise - in open plan offices
Clients expecting instant responses
Personal Issues playing on your mind
Un-necessary meetings
Mixed priorities from management
Fatigue

Here are some strategies to minimise distractions:

Turn off the email alert
Check your email at certain points of the day, for example every hour or every two hours.
During important tasks when you need to focus block all distractions or remove yourself from the office environment.
Communicate to people around you that at certain points of the day you are not to be disrupted.
If the noise around you is too great look at using ear plugs at certain points of the day.
Have a clear plan of what you want to do; this will stop you bouncing from task to task.
Practice being "present" this is where you calm those racing thoughts and only think of one task.

To find out more about Dr Adam Fraser visit www.energyfactory.com.au