Education kit launched to enhance skills of future exporters

Austrade’s ‘Journey to International Business’ education resource is aimed to provide teachers with the tools to equip students with the knowledge and skills to analyse a business’ export potential, research suitable markets and how to enter the market.

“The world of international business is a demanding one, and we want to empower educators, through this booklet, to teach practical ways to succeed in international business,” Byrne said.

“In business, it is often the small to medium-sized businesses which require this knowledge, largely because they often lack the resources to acquire it easily.  That is why Austrade’s ‘Journey to International Business’ will be useful to the smaller sized firms which comprise our exporting industry.”

“This initiative is particularly important especially considering trade creates jobs and growth. Trade, like investment, is a stimulus to growth, no more so than during the global financial crisis when economies need all the stimulus they can get.

“Also as exports comprise about 23.5 per cent of Australia’s Gross Domestic Product, or about A$280 billion a year in income, and with about one in seven Australians employed because of our export industries further demonstrates why we take the economics of exporting seriously.

“This means 1.4 million people are employed are a direct result of exporting, while about 2.5 million people are employed as a result of exporting and importing,” Byrne said.

The Journey to International Business kit is also important in another sense, one which relates to the changing nature of trade, in particular the development of a knowledge-based export sector.

“The kit also includes critical advice based on the past experience of successful Australian exporters and provides TAFE and university students what it takes to run a small business and become an exporter.

“With Australian exporters today selling more than just commodities, one of the Government’s aims has been to increase the volume of high-value-added exports and services, such as education.

“It is hoped that with this publication successive generations of students in business and economics will learn the real world applications of their ideas – not just the theory – at a time when the real world is becoming much more challenging,” Byrne said.