Dubbo Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Matthew Wright is joining the navy and running away to sea … but only for half a day.
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His “adventure” on Wednesday is all in the name of the employment of Australian military reservists.
Mr Wright has previously lugged the heavyweight backpack and weaponry carried by our soldiers ... for the same cause.
He says there is a need for more reservists in Dubbo and he is about to set sail on the Young Endeavour ship to ‘get it done’.
Half a dozen members from different Central West business chambers will join him on the vessel.
Among them is Stacey Whittaker, a Bathurst Business Chamber member and chair of the Central West Defence Reserves Support Council (DRSC).
The Young Endeavour celebrates its 30th year of operation in 2018.
The Royal Australian Navy-run initiative has involved more than 13,000 young people in its time.
Mr Wright will spend half a day on the ship.
A youth crew and young clients from a disability support group will also be on board.
All participants will have the chance to get hands-on experience during the trip.
“It will be exciting but more importantly, an educational piece,” Mr Wright said.
He said businesses and communities needed to be educated on reservists and how they can benefit them.
“Most businesses worry about employing reservists because sometimes they have to go away for work or on leave. But these people have exceptional skills – navigation and practical. They can take them back to work, being beneficial to businesses. We need more of them.”
With less than 15 reservists employed in the Dubbo region, Mr Wright is urging businesses to ‘give them a fair go’.
Mr Wright said it’s a rare opportunity to have even half a day out on the Young Endeavour.
He was excited to be with a network of chambers to share ideas, to get to know reserve service personnel and to learn a few basic sailing skills.
“It will be great to get to know them to learn their background. To see what businesses they’ve worked in and what challenges they’ve faced when having to leave.”
Several months ago the chamber hosted a reservist function at Dubbo’s Army Reserve Base.
“We thought it would be good to educate businesses and reserve personnel in businesses for further down the track. From this we found out about the Young Endeavour.”
The event was a success and Mr Wright said he would be looking to host it again in 2018.
