Papers & Presentations
Promoting Rural Skills To The Marketplace: A Teleworking Case Study
Robyn Donovan, Information Specialist, Department of Primary Industries, Rockhampton, Queensland
There are increasing numbers of rural and remote people being connected to the internet. Surveys conducted in Central and Southern Queensland indicate that nearly a quarter of rural clients have an email address. Projects funded by the Rural Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund (RTIF) and the e-commerce summits funded by the National Office of the Information Economy (NOIE) have increased the awareness of the internet and the applications to rural businesses.
The Moura Rural Teletask Group has been formed to actively market their skills to businesses and agencies on a commercial basis using their online facilities. This Group has been formed by a group of primary producers who have been developing their computer skills and meeting on a regular basis since 1988. They are now a self directed learning group and continue to facilitate their own learning opportunities.
The group has recognised the opportunities that being connected to the internet provides and members of the group are now working together on projects and communicating using email.
The current successes and learning opportunities of this Group are described and future prospects discussed. The Group's recommendations for other potential rural communities who are interested in teleworking are also listed.