b-Fit

Vision:

To ensure our members have access to training opportunities and to utilise them to grow their business.

Aim/Purpose:

Ensure that Chamber Members:

• Chamber members are encouraged to take on professional development.
• Are aware of training opportunities.
• Work with existing training organizations (ITO’s) to promote opportunities.

Identify and promote training opportunities.

Business Toolbox

Statistics New Zealand has just released the Business Toolbox, a free suite of online tools that provide quick and easy access to information for businesses. The Business Toolbox contains two tools:

• Market Mapper – businesses can visually pinpoint their target markets using 2006 Census data.
• Industry Profiler – provides details on industry performance over time, staff turnover, and survival of similar-sized businesses.

For example, using the Market Mapper, you can create a population density map by selecting a number of characteristics such as age, income, household composition, and family type.

Using Industry Profiler, you can search a particular industry and view information such as survival rates, and new and ceased businesses by region over the last five years.
To access the Business Toolbox, go to: www.stats.govt.nz/business_toolbox

Statistics NZ can also arrange for its Outreach team to demonstrate the tool and its uses at your place of work. For further information, please contact Graeme Simpson on 04 931 4066 or via email: graeme.simpson@stats.govt.nz.

Resources for Business

Please find a list of organisations which may be able to assist your business. KEA (Kawerau Enterprise Agency) has compiled this from a variety of sources in response to issues raised at the Job Summit in Rotorua in April 2009. There was general concern expressed there, which identified a lack of knowledge about the range of resources and where to go for information etc.

There are a number of key websites on this list which are extremely useful regardless of the stage of new business – start-up, growing, mature, exporting etc.

Click here to link to the Resources for Business PDF document.

We hope this is of interest to you.